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ESSENTIALS OF 
PUBLIC SPEAKING 

FOR 
SECONDARY SCHOOLS 



BY 



ROBERT I. FULTON 

DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF ORATORY AND PROFESSOR OF ORATORY 
IN THE OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY 

AND 

THOMAS C. TRUEBLOOD 

PROFESSOR OF ORATORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 



GINN AND COMPANY 

BOSTON • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • LONDON 






Copyright, 1909, by 
Robert I. Fulton and Thomas C. Trueblood 




ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 



89.5 



GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



Two Cootes Received 

^AY 261909 

j-CUSS A/^N 



PREFACE 

The growth of interest in public speaking in the secondary 
schools throughout the United States during the past decade 
has been phenomenal. The principal high schools and acade- 
mies are not only supporting vigorous debating societies and 
oratorical associations, but are engaging in friendly contests in 
debate and oratory with their rivals. This has led to a demand 
for systematic instruction in the fundamentals of good reading 
and good speaking, and leading secondary schools, recognizing 
this demand, are establishing courses to that end. 

The aim of the authors of this volume is to meet this need, 
to present sufficient instruction for practical purposes, and not 
to overburden the student with too extended discussions of the 
philosophy of expression. It has been the endeavor to discuss 
simply and to the point the essential elements of good delivery, 
to give short illustrations for applying the principles, and then 
to provide whole selections for practice. We have tried so to 
simplify instruction that the average teacher who has been 
chosen to do this work, whether he has had extended technical 
instruction or not, shall be able to acquire sufficient skill from 
the discussions contained in these pages to become of material 
service to young students of public speaking. 

We have followed mainly our plan published in 1893 in the 
Practical Elocution, and we trust that this newer and simpler 
treatment, designed for younger students, will add interest to 
the study of the elements of effective delivery, and inspire con- 
fidence in those who would acquire proficiency in the art of 
persuasive speaking. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Preface iii 

Index to Illustrative Selections xi 

Introduction i 

PART I. THE SPEAKER 

CHAPTER I. MAN'S TRIUNE NATURE 4 

1. Vital Nature 4 

2. Mental Nature 5 

3. Emotive Nature 5 

CHAPTER II. THE VOCAL ORGANISM 6 

Section I. Organs 6 

1. The Lungs 6 

2. The Trachea and Bronchi 6 

3. The Larynx - . . . . 6 

4. The Pharynx 7 

5. The Nasal Cavities 7 

6. The Mouth 7 

Section II. Muscles 7 

1. The Diaphragm 7 

2. The Abdominal Muscles 8 

3. The Rib Muscles . 8 

Section III. Respiration 8 

1. Inspiration 8 

2. Expiration 9 

3. Method of Breathing 9 

4. Breathing Exercises 10 

Section IV. Vocal Culture 12 

1. Care of the Voice 13 

2. Vocal Exercises 14 

v 



vi ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Page 

CHAPTER III. PRONUNCIATION 16 

I. Phonetic Sounds 16 

1. Tonics 16 

2. Subtonics 16 

3. Atonies 16 

II. Time Value of Sounds 17 

1. Stopt Sounds 17 

2. Continuant Sounds 18 

III. Requisites of Pronunciation 19 

Section I. Quality of Vowel Sound 19 

Defects in Vowel Quality 19 

Section II. Articulation . . . ; 22 

1. Oral Position of Consonants 23 

(1) Labials , . 23 

(2) Linguals 23 

(3) Palatals 23 

2. Cognates .24 

3. Exercises in Articulation 25 

Section III. Syllabication 27 

1. Syllables as to Etymology and Euphony 27 

2. Syllables as to Number 27 

3. Syllables as to Position 28 

4. Time Value of Syllables 28 

(1) Immutable Syllables 28 

(2) Mutable Syllables . 28 

(3) Indefinite Syllables . 28 

Section IV. Accentuation 28 

1. Kinds of Accent 29 

(1) Primary Accent 29 

(2) Secondary Accent 29 

(3) Tertiary Accent 29 

2. Variation of Accent 29 

Section V. Exercises in Pronunciation 30 

CHAPTER IV. EMPHASIS 31 

Section I. Emphasis of Sense 32 

1. Absolute Emphasis ^3 



CONTENTS vii 

Page 

2. Antithetic Emphasis 33 

3. Cumulative Emphasis 34 

4. Balanced Emphasis 34 

Section II. Emphasis of Emotion 35 

Section III. Emphasis of Pulsation 36 

PART II. ELEMENTS OF VOCAL EXPRESSION 

Table of Vocal Elements 41 

CHAPTER V. TIME 42 

Section I. Pause 42 

1. Physical Necessity 42 

2. Mental Necessity 42 

3. Law of Use 44 

4. Explanation and Illustrations 44 

Section II. Quantity 53 

1. Long Quantity 54 

2. Medium Quantity 56 

3. Short Quantity 58 

4. Vocal Culture of Quantity 61 

Section III. Movement 64 

1. Slow Movement 65 

2. Moderate Movement 65 

3. Rapid Movement 65 

CHAPTER VI. QUALITY 75 

Section I. Normal Quality 76 

Section II. Orotund Quality . 81 

Section III. Oral Quality 83 

Section IV. Nasal Quality 85 

Section V. Falsetto Quality 93 

Section VI. Guttural Quality 96 

Section VII. Pectoral Quality 98 

Section VIII. Aspirate Quality 100 

Section IX. Summary and Vocal Culture 103 



viii ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Page 

CHAPTER VII. FORCE 107 

Section I. Form .' 108 

1. Effusive Form 108 

2. Expulsive Form , no 

3. Explosive Form 112 

4. Combinations of Form and Quality (with Table) ... 114 

5. Vocal Exercises ..- 115 

Section II. Degree 118 

1. Subdued Degree 118 

2. Moderate Degree 118 

3. Energetic Degree . 118 

4. Vocal Culture in Degrees of Force 127 

Section III. Stress . 131 

1. Radical Stress 132 

2. Final Stress 134 

3. Compound Stress 135 

4. Median Stress 137 

5. Thorough Stress 139 

6. Intermittent Stress 145 

7. Vocal Exercises in Stress 149 

CHAPTER VIII. PITCH 154 

Section I. Degree of Pitch 154 

1. Low Degree 155 

2. Middle Degree 155 

3. High Degree 155 

4. Vocal Culture of Degrees of Pitch 161 

Section II. Change of Pitch 163 

1. Inflection 164 

(1) Rising Inflection . 164 

(2) Falling Inflection 165 

2. Waves : 168 

(1) As to Number of Slides 168 

(2) As to Length of Slides 169 

(3) As to Direction of Slides 170 

(4) Vocal Culture of Waves . 170 



CONTENTS ix 

Page 

3. Intervals 172 

(1) The Semitone 173 

(2) The Second 176 

(3) The Third 178 

(4) The Fifth 180 

(5) The Octave 182 

(6) Vocal Culture of Intervals 185 

Section III. Melody 188 

1. Current Melody 188 

(1) Chromatic Melody 189 

(2) Diatonic Melody 189 

(3) Broken Melody 189 

2. Cadence . 192 

(1) Monad 193 

(2) Duad 193 

(3) Triad. . 193 

(4) Tetrad 194 

(5) Pentad 194 

PART III. ELEMENTS OF ACTION 

CHAPTER IX. CONCEPTION OF ACTION 199 

Section I. Impulse to Action 199 

Section II. Suppression of Self 199 

Section III. Limits of Personation 200 

1. First Law 200 

2. Second Law 201 

Section IV. Action in Figurative Language .... 202 

CHAPTER X. REQUISITES OF ACTION ,202 

Section I. Grace 202 

Section II. Force 202 

Section III. Precision 203 

1. The Preparation 203 

2. The Stroke 203 

3. The Return 204 

Section IV. Economy 204 



X ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Page 

CHAPTER XL LAWS GOVERNING ACTION 204 

Section I. Zones of the Body 205 

1. The Head 205 

2. The Torso 205 

3. The Limbs 205 

Section II. The Arms 205 

1. The Upper Arm 206 

2. The Forearm 206 

3. The Hand . 206 

Section III. Principles of Gesture 206 

1. The Index 207 

2. The Supine 208 

3. The Prone 209 

4. The Reflex . 210 

5. The Clasped 211 

6. The Averse 212 

7. The Clenched 213 

Section IV. Planes of Gesture 215 

1. Plane of Equality 216 

2. Plane of Superior 216 

3. Plane of Inferior 217 

Section V. The Legs 219 

1. The Foot 219 

2. The Lower Leg ..219 

3. The Upper Leg 219 

Section VI. Positions and Attitudes 219 

1. First Position 220 

2. Second Position 221 

3. First Attitude 223 

4. Second Attitude 225 

(1) Second Attitude, Forward 225 

(2) Second Attitude, Backward 227 

Section VII. Technique of Action 229 

1. Exercises for Freedom of Gesture 229 

2. Exercises in Principles of Gesture 231 

3. Exercises in Positions and Attitudes 231 



ILLUSTRATIVE SELECTIONS 



Appeal in Behalf of Ireland Prentiss . 

Arena Scene, The, from " Quo Vadis," . . . Seinkiewicz 

Battle Hymn of the Republic Howe 

Blacksmith's Story, The Olive 

Blue and the Gray, The Lodge , 

Boat Race, The Hughes 

Burial of Moses, The Alexander 

Caught in the Quicksand Hugo . 

Character of Washington Webster 

Child's Dream of a Star, A Dickens 

Commercial Expansion McKinley 

Crossing the Bar Tennyson 

Dagger Scene, The, from " Macbeth "... Shakespear 

Darius Green and his Flying Machine . . . Trowbridge 

Darkness Byron . 

Dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery . ... Lincoln 

Elements of National Wealth Blaine . 

Galileo Everett 

Garden Scene, The, from "Mary Stuart" . . Schiller 

Grief of Ophelia, The Shakespeare 

Hamlet's Advice to the Players Shakespeare 

Hamlet's Self-Reproach Shakespeare 

Henry V to his Troops Shakespeare 

Hero of the Furnace Room, A Anonymous 

Horatius at the Bridge Macaulay . 

Horrors of Savage Warfare Chatham . 

How we hunted a Mouse Jenkins 

Impartial Arbitration Bryan . . 

Irish Disturbance Bill, The O'Connell 

Isle of Long Ago, The Taylor . . 

Lady Clare Tennyso?i . 

Leper, The Willis . . 

Macbeth at Dunsinane Shakespeare 

Mary's Night Ride Cable '. . 



Xll 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



Murder of Love joy, The Phillips . 

Murder Scene, The, from " Macbeth "... Shakespeare 

My Ships Wilcox . . 

National Flag, The . Beecher . 

National Morality Beecher . 

New South, The . . Grady . . 

Ocean Burial, The Saunders . 

Power of Habit, The Gough . . 

Protestations of Love, from " Much Ado 

about Nothing" Shakespeare 

Quarrel of Brutus and Cassius, The, from 

"Julius Caesar" Shakespeare 

Resignation Longfellow 

Ring Out, Wild Bells Tennyson . 

Sailing beyond Seas Ingelow . 

Second Trial, A Kellogg 

Shylock's Rage, from " Merchant of Venice " . Shakespeare 

Sky, The Buskin 

Soldier's Reprieve, The Bobbins 

Song of the Brook Tennyson . 

Sun of Liberty, The Hugo . . 

University the Training Camp, The .... Grady . . 
Wit and Repartee of Benedick and Beatrice, 

from " Much Ado about Nothing " . . . . Shakespeare 



Page 
196 
101 
109 
194 
232 
190 
83 
"3 

185 

150 
157 
159 
138 

77 
182 
158 
145 

59 
181 
179 

171 



ESSENTIALS OF 

PUBLIC SPEAKING 

INTRODUCTION 

Elocution is the science and art of expression by voice and 
action. As a science it treats of the elements or principles 
underlying all expression; as an art it embodies the correct 
use of these principles in the particular phase of expression 
demanded of the reader or speaker. Just as the musician must 
master the technique and principles of music before he can 
attain the highest skill in his art, or as the civil engineer must 
know the science of mathematics before he can succeed in the 
art of calculation, so the speaker must understand the elements 
of elocution and become skilled in their use if he would pass 
beyond the point of accidental success in the art of public 
speaking. True, a person may sing without a technical knowl- 
edge of music, or speak reasonably well in imitation of a favor- 
ite speaker, but he can never rise to the highest plane except 
through the study and practice of correct expression. The 
purpose of training in elocution is to develop individuality 
so that the speaker may be original and not imitative in his 
methods, to correct his bad habits of speech and gesture by 
fixing good habits in their stead, and to make the body a 
responsive instrument to obey the activities of the mind and 
the impulses of the heart. 

Skill in the use of the principles of expression is an accom- 
plishment in ordinary conversation. Exercises in articulation, 
voice, and action necessary to the highest perfection in public 
speaking have an agreeable effect upon the conversational voice 



2 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

and manner. The tones are deepened, the resonance improved, 
the pronunciation chastened ; all of which are accomplishments 
greatly to be desired in everyday life. 

Training in expression is also valuable as a means of literary 
interpretation and entertainment. It is a source of pleasure 
and culture to listen to the skillful reading of passages from 
the masterpieces of literature, whether in public or in the home 
or social circle. Such exercise of one's skill is not only enter- 
taining and instructive but is a mark of courtesy and a means 
of refinement to a community. 

But skill in speaking is still more valuable as a means of 
persuasion. The time will never come when people will not 
flock to hear men plead causes of vital interest. There will 
always be a demand for those who can speak well, for business 
interests require men who can present cases well in the courts. 
The effective jury lawyer will secure a much larger share of 
the business of the courts than the man of equal learning and 
high character who is not effective as a speaker. Leaders in 
committees, conventions, and other deliberative assemblies are 
almost invariably effective speakers, for it is a well-known fact 
that most of the important business of life is shaped by pithy, 
energetic, short speeches. 

The testimony of the great orators is overwhelming in sup- 
port of faithful and vigorous practice in the art of public 
speaking. Gladstone declares that " time and money spent 
in training the voice and body is an investment that pays a 
larger interest than any other"; and Spurgeon says, "I believe 
that every one should train his voice and body, first, for 
the health it affords ; second, for its educating effects ; third, 
for the advantage it gives over others for usefulness." And 
Wendell Phillips, in defense of such training, a very important 
factor in his own education, declares that " it is useless to 
waste words on any man ignorant of the vast power of agree- 
able and eloquent speech in a republic." 



INTRODUCTION 3 

The problem of how to teach the subject in a practical way 
has puzzled the schoolmen and vexed the instructor whose 
duty it has been to train students in elocution. Clearly the 
best way to teach the art of public speaking is through the 
science underlying that art and through practice of its prin- 
ciples, which may be taught and applied as are the principles 
of other liberal sciences. 

That one may progress rapidly and consistently it is neces- 
sary that voice and action should be developed simultaneously. 
To this end every lesson should call forth exercises in vocal 
culture, breathing, pronunciation, emphasis, and technique of 
action, drills as necessary to artistic expression as drills in 
music and painting are to those arts. But the major part of 
the hour should be given to the study of the principle of 
expression under consideration and the practice of the illus- 
trative selection embodying that principle. The arrangement 
of the elements and illustrations affords ample room for the 
individual methods of the instructor. Each principle is treated 
as a whole and in combination with other elements in their 
natural sequence, so that if one has not time for the full course 
it is complete and logical as far as one goes. The judicious 
admixture of text drill and illustrative material throughout the 
course makes the study of elocution both practical and effect- 
ive. To treat the subject in a dogmatic, " lesson-leaf " fash- 
ion would be to discredit the good taste and judgment of 
the teacher and limit him to a set, mechanical method. The 
instructor is given the largest freedom in the assignment of 
work and in the adaptation of the text to the individual needs 
of his students. 

We shall treat the subject under three heads: (1) the 
speaker, his formation and use of language; (2) the elements 
of vocal expression by which he is to make himself effective 
orally ; (3) the principles of action by which he satisfies the 
eye of the audience and reenforces his vocal utterance. 



PART I 
THE SPEAKER 

In this division of the book we shall treat certain subjects 
relating to the speaker and his use of language which are 
inseparably connected with the art of public speaking but 
which cannot be classed as elements of elocution. They are 
(i) Mart's Triune Nature, which deals with the avenues through 
which one receives and gives out impressions ; (2) the Vocal 
Organism as an instrument of expression ; (3) Pronunciation, 
which deals with the formation of sounds and words ; and (4) 
Emphasis, which relates to the enforcement of the ideas of 
language. 

CHAPTER I 
MAN'S TRIUNE NATURE 

Impression is essential to expression. We must possess be- 
fore we can give. The object of elocution is to aid the speaker 
to give correct outward expression of his inner consciousness. 
Before the student can hope to master the laws of expression 
he must know something of this inner nature and the avenues 
through which he receives his impressions. 

An analysis of the psychic being reveals the well-established 
theory that man is one in consciousness and three in manifesta- 
tion * that the one being, the ego, has three natures, (1) the 
Vital, (2) the Mental, and (3) the Emotive. 

1. The Vital Nature is made up of bone, muscle, sinews, 
nerves, the brain, and other organs, all of which are susceptible 
alike to the buoyant thrills of health and the aches and pains 

4 



MAN'S TRIUNE NATURE 5 

" flesh is heir to." The body is the seat of the appetites, the 
dwelling place of the mind, and the " temple of the soul." 
Through this part of his being man reveals the phenomena 
of life which lasts while the heart beats and respiration con- 
tinues. The gymnastic exercises and athletic sports so prom- 
inent in high-school and college life are a response to the 
demand that the Vital Nature be properly developed. 

2. The Mental Nature is. that part of the being through 
which man perceives, remembers, reflects, invents, reasons, 
and attains knowledge. It is presided over by the mind, which 
in turn has its seat in the brain. The manifestation of this 
nature is evident in all the mental activities. Its cultivation 
forms a large part of school and college education. 

3. The Emotive Nature is that part of man's being through 
which his affectional or passional life is manifested. Through 
it he loves or hates, is sympathetic or bears antipathy, is loyal 
to his concepts of truth and duty or violates law, order, and 
morality. It is presided over by the* soul, the cultivation of 
which is the aim of all spiritual education. 

These three natures, — the Vital, the Mental, and the Emo- 
tive, — presided over by life, mind, and soul, and revealing 
sensation, thought, and feeling, all living and blending in 
one being, form the triangle on which the science of elocution, 
or, speaking more broadly, the philosophy of expression, is 
based. Through these three natures man receives all his varied 
and complex impressions, and through the elements of elocu- 
tion responding to these natures he may hope to express his 
own thoughts and feelings and touch responsive cords in the 
life, mind, and soul of his audience. It then becomes our task 
in this volume to discover the elements of expression by test- 
ing their relation to Man's Triune Nature and showing their 
revelatory power in the art of expression. 



6 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

CHAPTER II 

THE VOCAL ORGANISM 

The voice as an instrument consists of (i) Organs and 
(2) Muscles. 

SECTION I. ORGANS 

The organs of voice are (1) the Lungs, (2) the Trachea and 
Bronchi, (3) the Larynx, (4) the Pharynx, (5) the Nasal 
Cavities, and (6) the Mouth. 

1. The Lungs constitute the bellows of the voice. Their 
function is to receive and supply air for the sustaining of life, 
and for the purposes of speech. 

2. The Trachea and Bronchi form the air passages to the 
lungs and act as resonators for the voice. The flexible rings 
of cartilage which compose the Trachea, or windpipe, and the 
muscles which connect them, are capable of being distended 
or narrowed, lengthened or shortened, so as to affect materially 
the pitch and resonance of tone. 

3. The Larynx, or voice box, is situated at the top of the 
Trachea. It consists of five cartilages. Some of these act as a 





Fig. i. Position of Cords 

in Tone Production 

1, 1, vocal cords 



Fig. 2. Position of Cords 

in Deep Breathing 

1, 1, vocal cords 



shield to the more delicate parts of the vocal instrument, and 
others lengthen or shorten, open or close, the vocal cords. 
These cords are two pearly white ligaments which are attached 



MUSCLES 7 

to muscles at the side of the Larynx. The cords stand in a 
horizontal position across the voice box, and their thin inside 
edges vibrate as the air is sent over' them from the lungs, and 
thus produce voice. In the production of pure tone the cords 
stand very close together, but in ordinary breathing they are 
wide apart, as shown in the accompanying figures. 

4. The Pharynx is that part of the throat between the larynx 
and the nasal cavities. It may be seen when the mouth is well 
open, the tongue depressed, and the soft palate lifted. The 
dome of the Pharynx just back of the soft palate is one of the 
most important cavities of vocal resonance. 

5. The Nasal Cavities are two irregularly constructed pas- 
sages separated by a bony partition and having for their base 
the hard palate. They constitute the chief air passages in 
normal breathing, and act as resonators, giving ring and char- 
acter to the voice. These cavities temper and filter the air 
we breathe and prevent dryness of the mouth occasioned by 
mouth breathing. 

6. The Mouth contains the articulating organs, — the tongue, 
the lips, and the palate. The dome of the mouth is one of the 
chief resonators of voice, and the soft palate at the back of this 
dome consists of a flexible fold which acts with the tongue in 
placing and shaping tone. 

SECTION II. MUSCLES 

The chief muscles used in voice production are (1) the Dia- 
phragm, (2) the Abdominal Muscles, and (3) the Rib Muscles, 

1. The Diaphragm is a heavy muscle which separates the 
chest from the abdomen. It stands like a vaulted arch, with the 
front side higher than the back. Its function is to contract and 
flatten in inspiration so as to enlarge the cavity of the chest, 
and to relax to its normal position in expiration so as to 
decrease the chest cavity. 



8 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



2. The Abdominal Muscles form the front wall of the abdo- 
men. This wall presses out as the diaphragm contracts, and 
moves back as the diaphragm rises. In quiet breathing the 
diaphragm and abdominal wall act and react alternately upon 
each other. At such times the abdominal muscles are only 
passively engaged ; but in forcible expiration, as in coughing, 
laughing, or shouting, the muscles of the abdomen strike 
inward with great vigor. 

3. The Rib Muscles are divided into the outer and the inner 
muscles. The outer muscles contract and lift the ribs out and 
up. The inner muscles, in forced expiration, draw the ribs 
down and in to the position of repose. In tranquil breathing 
the inner muscles are not actively engaged, as the ribs fall by 
their own weight. 



SECTION III. RESPIRATION 

Respiration is the process of drawing in and expelling the 
breath, primarily to sustain life and incidentally for the purposes 
of speech. The two acts are (1) Inspira- 
tion and (2) Expiration. 

1. Inspiration 

In Inspiration the process is as follows : 

(1) The diaphragm contracts and sinks. 

(2) The wall of the abdomen pushes 
forward. 

(3) The ribs and sternum move out 
and up. 

(4) The upper chest is expanded later- 
ally and vertically (see Fig. 3). 

As these four acts of inspiration pro- 
Fig. 3. Inspiration gress the air rushes in to equalize the 

1, trachea; 2, sternum; p ressure an d expand the luilgS. Thus m- 
3, diaphragm ; 4, ab- 
dominal walls spiration is an active process. 




RESPIRATION 



2. Expiration 



In Expiration the process is reversed : 
(i) The diaphragm relaxes and rises. 

(2) The wall of the abdomen is drawn 
in. 

(3) The ribs and sternum move down 
and in. 

(4) The upper chest sinks to its nor- 
mal position (see Fig. 4). 

Expiration may be active or passive. 
It is active in vigorous speaking, laugh- 
ter, or coughing, when the expiratory 
muscles outrun the relaxation of the in- 
spiratory muscles. It is passive in ordi- 
nary breathing, when the muscles, made 
tense in inspiration, relax suddenly to 
their normal position. 




Fig. 4. Expiration 
1, trachea; 2, sternum ; 
3, diaphragm ; 4, ab- 
dominal walls 



3. Method of Breathing 

The Law of Correct Breathing for voice production is as fol- 
lows : In inspiration there should be an increase, in expiration 
a decrease, in the size of the waist and the lower part of the 
chest. The chest should begin to enlarge from its lowest 
depths. The depression of the diaphragm and the outward 
movement of the abdomen lower the floor of the chest and 
enlarge its vertical diameter. The outward and upward move- 
ment of the ribs and sternum enlarges the chest laterally and 
vertically. 

The lungs are the bellows of the vocal apparatus, and the 
force should be applied around the waist, at the largest part of 
the bellows, — the part farthest from the voice box. These 
parts are the most flexible, and, the bony structure of the chest 
being suspended from the shoulders, may be moved back and 



IO ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

forth by the muscles without being lifted. This method will 
enable the speaker to conserve his strength and grow steadily 
in vocal power. 

If the abdomen be drawn in and the chest raised in inspira- 
tion, the natural movement is reversed and respiration becomes 
fatiguing because the chest must expand at its smallest and 
least flexible part, and because the shoulders must be lifted 
and sustained. In voice production it is difficult to sustain 
this weight and supply the air steadily. This accounts for the 
fact that persons who habitually use the upper-chest method 
produce breathy tones and do not progress in vocal power. 

4. Breathing Exercises 

(1) For the Lungs: 

a. Inhale slowly through the nostrils until the lungs are full, 
and then exhale with the prolonged sound of — h — . Occupy 
about ten seconds. 

b. Innate the lungs, hold the breath 5-10 or 15 seconds, so 
that the heat of the body may expand the air, and then expel 
the breath in about one second with the whispered sound 
of — hah — . 

c. Fully inflate the lungs, retain the breath, strike the chest 
gently ten times with the open palms, and then pour out the 
breath quickly in the whispered sound of — haw — . 

d. Inhale and retain the breath while striking forward vig- 
orously with the fist as follows : right arm four times, left arm 
four times, alternately four times, and simultaneously four 
times ; exhale quietly. 

e« Place the arms akimbo, inhale and sustain the breath 
while bending the body to the right four times, to the left 
four times, then alternately four times ; exhale. In like man- 
ner bend forward four times, backward four times, then 
alternately four times. 



RESPIRATION II 

{?) For the Vocal Cords: 

a. Inflate the lungs and exhale slow]y with the sharpest 
possible whisper of — ah — . 

b. Repeat the above, emitting the sound in glottal strokes. 

(3 ) For the Pharynx and Nasal Cavities : 

a. Inflate the lungs and exhale slowly through the nostrils 
with a sharp aspirated sound. 

(4) For the Abdominal Muscles : 

a. Inflate the lungs and, with inward strokes of the ab- 
dominal wall, expel the breath in partially vocalized coughs 
of — uh — . 

b. With a slight occlusive cough of — uh — , sound each of 
the syllables ha, he, hi, ho, hu, three times, thus : uh-ha, uh-ha, 
uh-ha ; uh-he, uh-he, uh-he, etc. Take breath after each set. 

c. Inflate the lungs, and with abdominal impulses expel the 
breath through the nostrils in a suppressed or aspirated laugh. 

d. Laugh ouf each of the vowels a, e, 1, 6, u, o, beginning 
slowly and accelerating the abdominal strokes. 

(5) For the Diaphragm : 

a. Draw in the breath with vigor through the smallest pos- 
sible opening of the lips. Exhale with equal vigor through the 
compressed lips. 

(6) For the Rib Muscles : 

a. Take breath, distending the ribs laterally as far as pos- 
sible, then contract them in expiration. 

(7) Catch-breath Exercises : 

a. Catch the breath quickly and inaudibly, first through the 
mouth, then through the nostrils. 

b. Count by threes, by fives, and by tens, inhaling after 
each group. 

It is better to take partial breaths at frequent intervals than 
full breaths at long intervals. The habit of taking short, in- 
audible inspirations between the phrases of speech should be 
carefully cultivated. 



12 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

SECTION IV. VOCAL CULTURE 

It is the Purpose of Vocal Culture to develop that which is 
good in the voice, correct its imperfections, and acquire skill 
in its use. 

The chief attributes of a good voice are (i) Purity, (2) 
Strength, and (3) Flexibility. If well developed in these 
directions a voice is capable of responding to every require- 
ment in expression. 

1 . Purity of tone requires free vibration of the vocal cords, 
healthfulness of the resonant cavities, and the vocalization of 
all the breath used. 

2. Strength depends upon the breadth of vibrations and the 
power to project and sustain tones. 

3. Flexibility is dependent upon the elasticity of the vocal 
cords and the power to vary tones through the scale. 

Vocal culture is dependent upon correct breathing. If the 
method of breathing is correct, vocalization becomes voice 
culture. But even with the best of methods the voice must 
not be overworked. The speaker should not strain to reach 
a degree of intensity beyond his vocal strength. The voice is 
a delicate instrument and must be developed gradually. It 
must have rest, and time to grow. Training should be vigor- 
ous but not violent, and one should cease practice when the 
organs are tired. A speaker who fails to replenish his vocal 
powers or produces tone by wrong methods draws upon his 
stock of vitality whenever he speaks, and his ultimate breaking 
down is only a question of time. 

Voice culture is more reasonable and more progressive if 
given under the mental condition implied in the tones used. 
As the brain controls the vital functions of the body one 
should think the thought and feel the emotion embodied in 
the sounds given. This idea should be kept steadily in view 
not only in the exercises given in this section but in those 
which follow each of the vocal elements treated in Part II. 



VOCAL CULTURE I 3 

1. Care of the Voice 

Diseases of the vocal organs come quite as much from gen- 
eral disturbances as from colds and sore throat. Sickness of 
any kind weakens the voice, and nothing so surely as a disor- 
dered digestion. If the voice be subjected to heavy strain 
when the body is in a weak condition, it tends to weaken the 
voice permanently. Nothing promotes vigor of vocal power 
so much as good health, and nothing is so essential to good 
health as regular habits of eating, sleeping, bathing, and 
exercise. 

Physical exercise should be vigorous, but not violent or ex- 
cessive. Those exercises are best which develop the chief fac- 
tors of good health, — (1) the heart, (2) the lungs, (3) the 
digestive apparatus, and (4) the nervous system. 

These exercises should be carried on regularly and with 
intelligence. The best exercise is a game of some kind, pref- 
erably in the open air, which keeps the mind intent on the 
point to be gained and not on the exercise necessary to 
health. The best of such games are golf and tennis. Other 
forms of exercise are walking, wheeling, rowing, fencing, and, 
what is less exhilarating, the various forms of exercise in a 
well-equipped gymnasium. In all these exercises the end 
sought should be vitality and not brawn. After vigorous exer- 
cise the body should not be exposed to draughts but should 
be allowed to assume its normal temperature gradually. 

The public speaker should not use the voice vigorously very 
soon after a meal, or in a cold room, or in the open air in raw, 
cold weather. The body should be warmly clothed but the 
neck and throat should not be too closely bound up. 

The very prevalent habit of drinking cold water during the 
progress of a speech is much to be condemned. A prominent 
physician says: "To drink cold water during a speech has 
much the same effect on the throat as pouring water on a red- 
hot stove." It produces congestion. 



14 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



We would caution also against the habit of using troches 
to clear the voice. Many of them contain opiates, which for a 
time may stimulate the voice, but which in the end are a posi- 
tive injury. 

It is gratifying to note that educators are more fully appre- 
ciating the value of physical education ; and along with 
opportunities for mental development large, well-equipped 
gymnasiums and athletic fields are being provided for students 
and placed under the direction of men skilled in the art of phys- 
ical development. All such development tends to strengthen 
the voice. 



2. Vocal Exercises 

In practicing the following exercises first give the phonetic 
sound four times and then pronounce the word containing the 
sound. For example, a — a — a — a — arm ; g — g — g — 
g — gun ; p — p — p — p — pope. 

(i) For clearness, strength, and evenness of tone : 



e as in me 


a as in ale 


a as in air 


a " " arm 


a " " all 


o " " old 


e " " eve 


oo " " ooze 


a " " arm 


i " " ill 


e " " end 


a " " at 


u " " use 


u " " pull 


6 " " son 


oi " " oil 


i " " isle 


ow " " owl 



(2) For development of the trachea, larynx, and pharytix : 
b as in bob d as in did g as in go 



(3) For reenforcing vibrations : 

v as in vine z as in zone 

j " " judge 1 " " lull 

(4) For the nasal cavities : 

m as in mum n as in none 



zh as in azure 
r " " roar 



ng as m sing 



VOCAL CULTURE 



15 



(5 ) For economy of breath : 

p as in pope t as in tut k as in kick 

th " " thin ch " " church sh " " shun 

f " " fife h " " has s " " sauce 

(6) For placing tone : 

Begin with a humming sound of — m — and glide into 
e-i-o-a, swelling out on the last vowel. Practice this exercise 
in notes of song on C, E, and G of the musical scale. Follow 
this drill with the sounds of a, a, a, 0, given separately with 
tones placed as suggested. 

(7) For range and flexibility of voice : 

Sound the vowels a, e, I, 0, ii, oi, ou, up and down the scale 
in spoken tones, as though in question and answer, thus : 

Did I say a c/ or a \; ec/ore\. 

After using the words of the question a few times omit them 
and speak the vowels, thus :. 

ac/ora \; ec/ore \, etc. 

In this exercise let the tone cover at least five notes of the 
scale. 

(8) For flexibility of articulating organs : 



b with 


a 


zh 


with 


a 


k 


with a 


d " 


e 


w 


a 


e 


f 


" e 


g " 


i 


y 


n 


i 


P 


" i 


m " 





th 


" 





t 


" 


n " 


u 


j 


a 


u 


s 


" u 


v " 


oi 


1 


a 


oi 


ch 


" oi 


z " 


ou 


V 


a 


ou 


sh 


" ou 



a. In the above table of exercises combine each consonant 
singly with all the vowels in the opposite column, as ba, be, bi, 
bo, bu, boi, bou \ da, de, di, do, etc. 



16 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

b. Reverse the order of exercises, combining each vowel 
singly with all the consonants in the opposite column, as 
ab, ad, ag, am, an, av, az ; eb, ed, eg, em, etc. 

These may be given in speech notes as in exercise (7), rising 
and falling on each combination. 



CHAPTER III 
PRONUNCIATION 

Pronunciation is the utterance in a single impulse of the 
elements that constitute a word. To pronounce well one must 
hear good pronunciation. It must become a habit, — a second 
nature, — and so easy as not to attract attention. 

The pronunciation of words is established by the usage of 
people of high social and intellectual culture. The dictionary 
is a record of that usage and should be followed by the masses. 

I. PHONETIC SOUNDS 

The phonetic sounds used in pronunciation are divided into 
three classes, — (1) Tonics, (2) Subtonics, and (3) Atonies. 

1. Tonics are clear, open, unobstructed tones. All vowels 
and diphthongs are of this class, e.g. a, e, 0, ae, oi, etc. 

2. Subtonics are tones modified by the articulating organs. 
All consonants that have tone are of this class, e.g. b, 1, m, ng, 
z, etc. 

3. Atonies are sounds without tone. They are breath modi- 
fied by the articulating organs. All consonants that have no 
tone belong to this class, e.g. f, h, k, p, t, sh, etc. 

The number of phonetic sounds has been variously estimated 
at from forty to forty-seven, but for all practical purposes the 
number may be placed at forty-three, as follows : 



PRONUNCIATION 



17 



Table of Eitglish Sounds 



Tonics 


SUBTONICS 


Atonics 


a as in ale 


b as 


in bob 


f 


as in fife 


a " arm 


d 


' did 


h 


" ^flj 


a " all 


g 


1 gag 


k 


" /bVi 


a " air 


J 


' j u dg e 


P 


" /<?/<? 


a " ask 


1 


' /z/// 


s 


" sauce 


a " <?/ 


m ' 
n ' 
r ' 

v ' 


' mum 
' »«» 

' roar 
' vivid 


t 

sh 
ch 
th 
wh 


" *** 


e " eve 
e " end 
e " ^rr 


" church 


i " isle 


y 


' jy^ 






i " /// 


z ' 
ng ' 








" old 




" do 


th < 


' then 






" .sw/ 


z(zh) ' 


' azure 






U " use 




u " /z/// 










oi " oil 




ou " owl 











II. TIME VALUE OF SOUNDS 

When examined as to their quantity, the phonetic sounds 
are of two classes, — (1) Stopt and (2) Continuant. 

1. Stopt sounds are those that may not be held profitably 
to any considerable extent. They are capable of slight dura- 
tion but are not all of the same length. For example b, d, and 
g are longer than p, t, and k, but not sufficiently long to be 
called continuants. The sounds of s and sh may be excepted 
occasionally for the purposes of expression, as in the hiss or 
the injunction to silence, when they may be prolonged to 
advantage. 



i8 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Table of Stopt Sounds 



Consonants 


Vo\ 


'ELS 


a as in at 


b as 


in bob 


a " ask 


d " 


did 


e " met 


g " 


gag 


i " it 


f " 


fife 


o " son 


h " 


hat 


u " put 


3 


jig 




k " 


kick 




P " 


pop 




s 


sat 




t " 


tat 




th " 


thin 




ch " 


chat 




sh " 


shun 




wh " 


zv hen 



2. Continuant sounds are such as may be prolonged to ad- 
vantage. Examples : 1, m, r, v, a, a, 5, I, etc. 

Table of Continuant Sounds 



Vowels 


Consonants 


a 


as in 


ale 


1 


as in 


lull 


a 


a 


arm 


m 




me 


a 


« 


all 


n 




nun 


a 


H 


air 


r 




roe 


e 


U 


eve 


V 




vie 


e 


<( 


en- 


w 




woe 


i 


(< 


isle 


y 




yet 





a 


old 


z 




zone 


00 


a 


ooze 


th 




then 


u 


u 


use 


ng 




sing 


oi 


(4 


oil 


zh 




azure 


ou 


(( 


our 









QUALITY OF VOWEL SOUND 19 

III. REQUISITES OF PRONUNCIATION 

In the application of the phonetic sounds in pronunciation 
there are four prime requisites : (1) Correct Quality of Vowel 
Sound, (2) Clear Articulation, (3) Correct Syllabication, and 
(4) Proper Accent. 

SECTION I. QUALITY OF VOWEL SOUND 

Quality of Vowel Sound is the shading given to the vowels 
by different positions of the articulating organs. To illustrate : 
there are six different qualities or sounds of a given in stand- 
ard dictionaries, as follows : a (ale), a (arm), a (all), a (ask), 
a (air), a (at). The careful distinction given to these and 
other vowel sounds is the groundwork of correct pronunciation. 
The dialects and provincialisms heard in different sections of 
this and other English-speaking countries come chiefly from 
wrong sounding of the vowels. 

Defects in Vowel Quality 

The following are some of the most common defects in 
vowel quality: 

(1) a (ale) is frequently modified to short Italian a (ask), 
with e to close, thus : day = dae. Pronounce the following 
with the positive long sound of the vowel : 



day 


stay 


gray 


way 


clay 


pray 


may 


fray 


hay 


play 


spray 


tray 



(2) Italian a (arm) is often modified to short Italian a (ask) ; 
to short a (at) ; to broad a (all) ; or even to flat a (air). Re- 
tain the Italian sound in the following : 

vaunt haunt launch calm 

daunt jaunt haunch palm 

gaunt stanch balm psalm 



20 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(3) Broad a (all) and its equivalent (order) are often 
given with Italian ^(arm); thus thought becomes thot. Pre- 
serve the broad sound. 

all awful sought taught 

call lawful thought wrought 

daughter straw caught fought 

(4) Short Italian a (ask) is often given as Italian a (arm) 
under the mistaken belief that the Italian a's are of the same 
quality ; more often it is made short a (at), and very often 
a (air). Preserve the short Italian sound in the following : 

ask blast brass calf 

answer vast grass laugh 

after fast pass staff 

(5) Short a (at) is frequently sounded like one of the 
Italian #'s, especially by singers who find them more agreeable 
for song notes. Thus man and stand become man and stand. 

Short a before r is quite often given as short ^(met). Thus 
Preserve the short sound in the 

marry carry 

Harry character 

Harrison parasite 

(6) In pronouncing e, i, u, and y before r no effort need be 
made to distinguish between them. This conclusion is reached 
after careful perusal of the latest standard dictionaries. 

her sir urn myrrh 

fern stir turn myrtle 

mercy bird fur Hyrcan 

(7) Long 00 (moon) and u (rude) are often given the sound 
of short 00 (foot). Retain the long 00 in the following : 

root soon rude fruit 

boot noon rule brute 

moon roof truth rue 



marry becomes 


merry. 


following : 




and 


mad 


stand 


glad 


hand 


bad 



QUALITY OF VOWEL SOUND 2 1 

(8) The equivalent sounds, o (son) and u (up), are often 
given the sound of o (got) ; not infrequently <?(met). Pro- 
nounce with short u (cup) the following : 

love mother gun judge 

done flood sun blush 

blood son fun budge 

(9) Long u (y + 00) is a much abused sound. The tendency 
is to drop the y element when the sound is preceded by a 
consonant. Best usage sanctions this when / precedes u, if the 
/ be preceded by another consonant. The Century Dictionary 
permits the use of long 00 without the y element in words like 
the following : 

blue slew plumage flew 

clue flue blew flume 

flute plume glue fluent 

In the following and similar words the y element should be 
retained without making it unduly distinct. 

duke constitute lute neutral 

due institute tune news 

duty revolution tumult produce 

(10) A fruitful source of mispronunciation is the tendency 
to make all short #'s alike ; for example, sot and song, which 
have the same diacritical mark, should not be given alike. The 
latter should have a broader sound intermediate between short 
and aw, for the reason that a vowel is lengthened or short- 
ened by the quantity of the consonant that succeeds it. In 
this instance ng is much longer than /. This intermediate 
sound is heard in accented syllables in which is followed by 
/,//, ss, st, n, ng, and g. 

off cross lost long 

cough loss cost song 

loft moss frost dog 



22 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(i i) The tendency to make vowels of unaccented syllables 
too distinct is a prevalent source of mispronunciation. Some- 
times they are not made distinct enough. 

There are two degrees of such sounds — obscure long vowels 
and obscure short vowels. 

a. In obscure long vowels the quality remains long but is 
passed over very lightly. 



amenable 


elab^r^te 


democrat 


regulate 


carb<?n#te 


idealism 


republican 


forensic 


enervate 


oration 


educate 


amuse 



b. In obscure short vowels the specific quality is lost and is 
reduced to a neutral sound, the slightly uttered short u (up). 

formal poet idtfl consul 

garland pupz'l capital student 

travel merzt iorum benevolent 

The obscure short vowel is heard in unaccented syllables end- 
ing in r. Vowels in such position are all of the same quality. 

friar doctor senator solicitor 

porter sulphur orator creator 

nadir satyr legislator sailor 

There are other sources of mispronunciation from wrong 
use of vowel quality, but the foregoing are the chief ones and 
will serve to awaken interest in pronunciation and in a more 
careful use of the dictionary. 

SECTION II. ARTICULATION 

Articulation is the jointing or linking together of the ele- 
ments of a word. This term is used chiefly with reference to 
the execution of consonants. 

An accurate and distinct articulation is the basis of good 
delivery. There is a physical advantage in good enunciation 
because it requires less breath to speak distinctly than to 



ARTICULATION 



23 



mumble. In mumbling the sounds slip out carelessly ; there is 
a waste of breath and hence a waste of vitality. There is also 
a decided advantage to the audience. If the utterance be 
indistinct, the audience must strain to understand the words. 
Under such a strain people grow weary and finally become 
listless and restless. They should be relieved of this weariness 
by clear enunciation, and be free to devote themselves to the 
thought of the speaker. 

The law of correct articulation is strength of contact and 
quickness of release of the articulating organs. 

1. Oral Position of Consonants 

Consonants when considered as to their location in the or- 
gans of articulation are of three classes, — (1) Labials, (2) Lin- 
guals, and (3) Palatals. 

(1) Labials are those consonants in which the lips are the 
flexible part in their formation, e.g. b 9 p, m, v. 

(2) Linguals are consonants in which the tongue is the 
flexible agent in their production, e.g. a 7 , /, n, r. 

(3) Palatals are consonants formed by the action of the 
soft palate and tongue at the back of the mouth, e.g. g, k, ng. 

Table of Consonants 



Labials 


Linguals 


Palatals 


b as in bob 


d 


as in 


did 


g as in gag 


i " fife 


J 


(C 


judge 


h " hat 


m " mum 


1 


" 


lull 


k " kick 


p " pipe 


n 


" 


nun 


y u yet 


v " vine 


r 


(( 


roar 


ng " sing 


w " weal 


s 


" 


S771 




wh " when 


t 
z 

th 
th 
ch 
sh 
zh 


a 
tt 


tut 

zone 
then 
thin 

church 

shun 

azure 





24 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

2. Cognates 

Cognates are consonants that have the same position but 
different sounds; for example, b and/; /and v; </and /. 

There are three classes, — (i) Labial Cognates, (2) Lingual 
Cognates, and (3) Palatal Cognates, 

Table of Cognates 



Labial Cognates 



Subtonic 



Atonic 



b {bob), m (mum) ; p {put) 
V {vivid) ; f (fife) 

W (weal) ; wh (when) 



Lingual- Cognates 



Subtonic 



Atonic 



d (did), n (no) ; t (tut) 

j (judge) ; Ch (chat) 

Z (zone) ; S («w) 

th (M*«) ; th (^/«) 

zh (aztire) ; Sh (skow) 



Palatal Cognates 



Subtonic 



Atonic 



g (£■*£), ng (««£-) ; k (kick) 
y(yet)\ \i(hat) 



In using cognates or the same sounds in conjunction this 
law should be observed : When a word ends in a sound with 
which the next word begins, or if the sounds be cognates, one- 
position of the organs will do for both. 

Illustrations of the Conjunction of Cognates 

1. They lived w near Five Forks. 

2. He has^said we want^none. 

3. They stop^mercy and leap^bounds. 

4. Live for others. 

5. They hovered^near. 

Illustrations of the Conjunction of the Same Sounds 

1. The lion^never^runs. 

2. Mainlines are with them. 

3. Arm^me for truth's w sake. 

4. None knew a lovelier boy. 

5. Tell him not^to do so. 



ARTICULATION 25 

In practice the student should hold the organs in the same 

position through both sounds. In the words lion never the 

n n 
two n's may be represented thus : <ZXZ>> The stream of 

tone instead of being broken is continued and swells out on 

the separate sounds. 

The same is true of the cognates d and 11 in lived near, only 
that the sound is changed. 

It is a serious fault in the articulation of abrupt consonants, 
such as &, d, g, p, t, to separate the organs too abruptly at the 
close of the sound. This is noticeable in such expressions as 
"don't you," in which one, in trying to avoid the slovenly 
pronunciation "donchoo," goes to the other extreme and adds 
an extra syllable, as " don-ta-you." Avoid both extremes. 

3. Exercises in Articulation 

(1) Give each of the following drills three times in succes- 
sion : ip, it, ik ; kiff, kiss, kish ; which, church, myth; lil, lol, 
la; rare, rear, car; form, from, far; jeer, Zeb's, wit; yet, 
you, yawn ; la, sea, tha ; ke, koo, ka ; soo — e — i — o — ah. — 
Adapted from Churchill } s Vocal Exercises. 

(2) Sound separately and distinctly each element of the 
following : 

Initial Combinations of Consonants 

^r(ink), £/(ack), dr(ench), ^(ell) 
y?(ed),/r(ame), ^/(are), ^r(ain) 
£-/(ash), cr(own), gu(ick), pr(znk) 
^/(an), /7£/(eak), sp(ot), spr(ing) 
jr^/(ash), ^//(ere), ^/(and), ^/r(ain) 
jvz(are), J7//(ote), j7(ain), sk(y) 
^/(ave), jyz/(are), t/irQve), tr(im) 

Sound each combination in this manner : b-r-'mk, brink ; 
£-/-ack, black, etc. 



26 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(3) In a similar manner practice the following : 

Terminal Combinations of Consonants 

(pro)bdst, (trou)drdst, (cu)rbs, (dee)ds 
(mi)dst, (breadths, (stran)^/'*/, (]u)ag'd 
(Y.?i)fflst, (wa)/fr, (fi)ftks, (ma)^ 
(ra)j^, (fi)sts, (mu)MW, (bu)lbs 
(e)/ms, (t)/ks, (fe)//, (di)m'dst 
(te)mflts, (b\i)rgs y (cu)/Vj, (ha)r^V 
(bi)rtns , (chd.)sms, (cry)pts, (bea)/^ 

Sound each combination thus : pio-b-d-s-t ; Xxou-b-P-d-s-t ; 
etc. 

(4) Practice the following sentences with strict reference 
to distinctness of enunciation : 

This shall slay them both. 

I will show you a ship of state sailing in shallow seas. 

It is the first step that costs. 

Thou wast struck dumb with amazement. 

He was incapable of a mean and questionable act. 

Thou prob'st my wound instead of healing it. 

His deeds speak his praise. 

The breadth thereof was ten cubits. 

What thou wouldst highly that wouldst thou holily. 

Thou wagg'st thy tongue in vain. 

If thou fall's t thou fall'st a blessed martyr. 

Thou found'st me poor and kept'st me so. 

He brought in Smith's Thucydides. 

This meteorous vapor is will-o'-the-wisp. 

The sounds of horses hoofs were heard. 

He was overwhelmed with whirlwinds. 

Thou barb'st the dart that wounds thee. 

Thou chuckl'dst over thy gain too soon. 

The bleak breeze blighted the bright blossoms. 

Flesh of freshly dried flying fish. 

A world too wide for his shrunk shank. 

The Japanese sink six Russian ships. 



SYLLABICATION 27 

SECTION III. SYLLABICATION 

Syllabication is the process of dividing words into syllables. 

A syllable is an element or combination of elements uttered 
with a single impulse of the voice and constituting a word or 
a part of a word. 

In pronunciation there must be a separate syllable for each 
vowel or diphthong on account of the strength of their vocal- 
ity ; for example, ah, beau, i-de-al, a-e-ri-al. 

Liquid consonants coming at the close of words may some- 
times take the place of vowels and form the basis of syllables ; 
e.g. troubl(e), jir(e), feebl(e). But it is a grievous fault to make 
syllables of these same consonants in such words as slew 
(su-lew), smile (su-mile), snow (su-now), spring (spu-ring). 

A syllable may contain one sound or as many as seven ; 
e.g. 0-bey, strengths. 

1. Syllables as to Etymology and Euphony 

In dividing words into syllables two special points must be 
borne in mind, — (1) Etymology and (2) Euphony. 

(1) Dividing as to Etymology, i.e. with reference to the 
derivation of the word ; as, sub-urbs not su-burbs, re-mu?ierate 
not rem-unerate. 

(2) Dividing as to Euphony of sound, i.e. with reference to 
smoothness of utterance ; as, re-ligion not rel-igion, long-est not 
lon-gest. 

2. Syllables as to Number 

According to the number of its syllables a word is called : 

(1) a Monosyllable — a word of one syllable, 

(2) a Dissyllable — a word of two syllables, 

(3) a Trissyllable — a word of three syllables, or 

(4) a Polysyllable — a word of more than three, or many 
syllables. 



28 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

3. Syllables as to Position 

According to its position in a word a syllable is called : 

(1) the Ultima when it is the last syllable, as (re-morse), 

(2) the Penult when the last but one, as (z^-or), 

(3) the Antepenult when the last but two, as (beau-tiiuY) , or 

(4) the Preantepenult when the last but three, as (^*>-itual). 

4. Time Value of Syllables 

Time Value is the intrinsic quantity or length given to 
syllables. There are three classes, according to the sounds that 
compose them, — (1) Immutable, (2) Mutable, and (3) Indefi- 
nite. 

(1) Immutable Syllables are those that cannot be prolonged 
to advantage. They are unchangeably short. Any attempt to 
prolong them will produce a drawl. Such syllables are com- 
posed wholly of stopt sounds ; e.g. back, bit, check, stop. 

(2) Mutable Syllables are such as are variable in quantity. 
They are composed of an intermingling of stopt and continu- 
ant sounds, the capacity for prolongation being dependent 
upon the number of continuants. They may be prolonged 
moderately or pronounced short in expression ; e.g. rate, 
make, bleed, board. 

(3) Indefinite Syllables are such as may be prolonged to the 
fullest extent of quantity. Although intrinsically long they 
may be pronounced quickly in expression. Such syllables are 
composed wholly of continuant sounds ; e.g. roll, arm, all, 
roar. 

SECTION IV. ACCENTUATION 

Accent is the special weight put upon one syllable of a word 
to distinguish it from the rest. 

Accent is to a word what emphasis is to a phrase or a 
clause. 



ACCENTUATION 29 

A strong accent is one of the distinguishing features of the 
English language and one of its chief elements of power. It is 
a source of variety, an element of rhythm, and a leading factor 
in versification. 

1. Kinds of Accent 

There are three kinds of accent with respect to their weight 
or importance, — the Primary ', the Secondary, and the Tertiary, 

(1) The Primary (') is the strongest of the accents, and is 
to be found in all words of more than one syllable; e.g. 
worn' Siiiy rebuke'. 

(2) The Secondary (") is an accent of- lighter weight, used 
in connection with the primary, and on some other than the 
principal syllable. It is used when there are more syllables 
than can be pronounced without this extra support of voice ; 
e.g. in" destructible, a d" am ant' ine, an"tedeluv v \ar\. 

(3) The Tertiary ('.") is the lightest of the accents, and is 
used only in connection with the others in certain very long 
words, its use being the same as that of the secondary "accent, 
namely, to relieve the ear and support the voice ; e.g. m w de- 
struc"tibil'ity, mcom" ! pre/ien n sibi/'ity. 

2. Variation of Accent 

Variation of accent in English serves : 

(1) To show contrast between words of similar form when 
placed in opposition ; e.g. " Shall we ascend? " " No, let us 
Ascend." " This is destructible, that ///destructible." 

(2) To distinguish parts of speech. 

a. Between a noun and a verb; e.g. contrast, contrast; 
progress, progress. 

b. Between an adjective and a verb; e.g. periect, perfect; 
frequent, irequent. 

c. Between a noun and an adjective; e.g. compact, compact ; 
minute, minute. 



30 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(3) To satisfy meter. 

Poets sometimes change accent to meet the requirements 
of verse ; e.g. 

That thou, dead corse, again in com-plete steel. — Shakespeare. 
As hardy as the TV^-mean lion's nerve. — Ibid. 
Great Birnam wood to high Dun-^Vane hill. 



Till Birnam forest come to Dun-sinane. — Ibid. 

The bride had consented, — the gallant came late. — Scott. 

(4) For dialect reading. 

The broken English of a Frenchman, for example, would be 
accented somewhat as follows : 

Ah, gentetlmen, you come wis us. I show you beautiful, O, 
magnificent bust Christopher Colombo, splendid, grand, magnifi- 
cent . . . beautiful bust, beautiful pedistal. . . . Discover America, 
discover America, O, ze devil. — Mark Twain. 

SECTION V. EXERCISES IN PRONUNCIATION 

The student should consult a standard dictionary, mark the 
following words diacritically, and then pronounce them repeat- 
edly with distinctness and accuracy : 

Abject, acclimate, acumen, address, adept, aeronaut, afflatus, 
albumen, allopathy, alternately, amenable, amenity, anchovy, ant- 
arctic, area, asphalt, assets, athlete, aversion, awry, banquet, bes- 
tial, betroth, biography, blouse, bouquet, bravado, brigand, broom, 
burlesque, chasten, chastisement, clangor, clematis, clique, com- 
peer, communist, cognomen, condolence, contumely, consummate, 
coterie, cyclamen, decadence, demolition, demoniacal, desperado, 
desuetude, deficit, disputant, divan, dolorous, donkey, dramatist, 
edile, equipoise, esplanade, exponent, explicable, exquisite, facet, 
fetish, fief, flageolet, fulsome, gaunt, granary, grimace, gratis, 
halibut, harass, hirsute, hypocrisy, homeopathic, ignoramus, im- 
placable, indicatory, industry, indissoluble, indisputable, interest- 
ing, intrigue, integral, inquiries, inexplicable, jocund, juvenile, 



EXERCISES IN PRONUNCIATION 31 

lamentable, lithography, longevity, lyrist, lyceum, magazine, Ma- 
lay, mediocre, mischievous, millionaire, misconstrue, misanthrope, 
monad, molecule, museum, mustache, naked, nasal, nectarine, 
nepotism, nescience, nuptial, obligatory, oligarchy, obsolete, oc- 
cult, onerous, orotund, opponent, ordeal, overt, overseer, oxalic, 
organization, palmistry, parliament, pastel, paresis, pedagogue, 
pedagogy, pedagogical, persistent, peremptory, picturesque, quaes- 
tor, quay, quoit, quote, rapacious, recess, requium, resource, re- 
search, revolution, ribald, rinse, romance, sagacious, salmon, 
sedative, seine, sinecure, spoliation, spontaneity, squalor, suffice, 
suit, swaths, syringe, telegraphy, thews, thither, thought, tonsil- 
itis, treble, tremendous, tribune, truths, tune, tympanum, ubiquity, 
ultimatum, umpirage, ursuline, usurer, uxorcide, vagary, vapid, 
vehement, verbose, viceroy, virago, virulent, vituperative, volumi- 
nous, wherefore, with, woman, wroth, xylophone, youths, yolk, 
zither, Zouave. 



CHAPTER IV 

EMPHASIS 

Emphasis is the special prominence given to words or 
phrases in relation to other parts of the sentence. It is to a 
clause or phrase what accent is to a word, and, when properly 
given, discloses the exact meaning intended. It teaches one 
discrimination and perspective, — to pass lightly over the unim- 
portant and give weight to the important parts. 

The significance of Emphasis is mental, emotive, or vital in 
response to the intellect, the feelings, or the physical activities. 
This special prominence given to ideas is reached through 
the elements of vocal expression and action, and responds 
sympathetically to the demands of the three natures of man. 
Accordingly we have named the kinds of Emphasis as follows : 
(1) Emphasis of Sense, (2) Emphasis of Emotion, and (3) 
Emphasis of Pulsation. When these divisions are classified as 



32 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

to their relation to the threefold nature of man we have the 
following diagram : 

fSense Mental 1 

Emphasis <{ Emotion Emotive j> Man 

[Pulsation . . . . . Vital J 

SECTION I. SENSE 

Emphasis of Sense is mental in nature and appeals to the 
intellect. It explains and intensifies the meaning of the pas- 
sage without addressing the feelings. It is objective in charac- 
ter and shows the comparative strength of words in relation 
to the context. 

Any word may become emphatic under certain conditions, 
but as a class, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and pronouns receive 
most emphasis; prepositions, conjunctions, and the article 
rarely receive emphasis. 

Law of use : 

When a word i?itro duces or becomes an important part of a 
new idea it is emphatic. 

This law implies that when ideas have been expressed, or pre- 
supposed, words reintroducing them, except for the purpose of 
emphasis, are subordinated. This subordination is accomplished 
by passing easily and quickly over parts already brought out or 
taken for granted. 

Sentences illustrating : 

Let me have a country, or at least the hope of a country, and 
that a free country. — Webster. 

This question is larger than a party question. It is an American 
question. It is a world question. — Beveridge. 

At the proudest blood in Europe, the Spaniard, ... at the most 
warlike blood in Europe, the French, ... at the pluckiest blood 
in Europe, the English. — Phillips. 

The Divisions of Sense Emphasis are (i) Absolute, (2) An- 
tithetic, (3) Cumulative, and (4) Balanced. 



SENSE 



33 



i. Absolute Emphasis occurs upon the keywords of the 
sentence. These are the thought words which designate or 
particularize new ideas. In writing a telegram one uses thought 
words and only such connectives as are absolutely necessary for 
clearness. If we pronounce aloud the underscored keywords 
of the following sentences, without uttering the connecting 
particles, we will have a good understanding of the meaning 
to be conveyed : 

The King was confined in the palace of St. James, but the 
place selected for the scaffold was the street. before the palace of 
Whitehall. — Goldsmith. 



Now, blue-eyed Saxon, proud of your race, go back with me to 
the commencement of the century and select what statesman you 
please. — Phillips. 

2. In Antithetic Emphasis the new ideas are brought out by 
special weight on the terms contrasted. There are two divi- 
sions, (i) Expressed Antithesis, and (2) Bnplied Antithesis. 

(1) In Expressed Antithesis all the terms of the contrast 
appear in the sentence. There may be one, two, three, and 
even four terms in each phrase or clause of the contrast. To 
illustrate : 

Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers. — Shakespeare. 

Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? — Bible. 

Kings will be tyrants from policy, when subjects are rebels 
from principle. — Burke. 

The wounds of a sincere friend are faithful ; the kisses of a 
scheming foe are deceitful. — Anonymous. 

(2) In Implied Antithesis only one part of the contrast is 
expressed ; the opposing terms must be mentally supplied. 
This form of emphasis is extremely effective because of the 
stimulation given the hearer to supply the contrast. To illus- 
trate : 

" Roosevelt favored the policy of reciprocity." The part to be 
supplied is did not oppose. If the emphasis had been placed on 



34 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

the word reciprocity, the implied antithesis would have been not 
the policy of exclusiveness. If the word Roosevelt had been empha- 
sized, the part implied would have been as did others. 

" We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar." The idea im- 
plied is not against his person. 

" I should like to speak with the gentleman of the firm." This 
was addressed to one member of a firm of two lawyers. The im- 
plication is plain, — that the man addressed was not a gentleman. 

3. Cumulative Emphasis is employed to bring out a climax. 
When the members of a series or climax rise in gradation, 
each stronger than the preceding one, progressive energy 
should be applied until the climax is reached. When judi- 
ciously used this emphasis is very effective in argument and 
appeal. To illustrate : 

There is Boston and Concord and Lexington and Bunker Hill, 
and there they will remain forever. — Webster. 

You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things. 

— Shakespeare. 
Pluck down benches, pluck down forms, windows, anything. 

— Shakespeare. 

4. In Balanced Emphasis the idea is brought out by dis- 
tributing the energy over the emphatic group. This is done 
chiefly by the element of inflection, in which the voice rises 
on one part and falls on another. It may be illustrated thus : 

Man ^dies ^ and goes to his long c/home ^\. — Anon. 

All ^ hail ^\ to thee, Thane ^f of Cawdor ^^y — Shakespeare. 

In case there are more than two important words in the em- 
phatic phrase the voice rises on all but the last. To illustrate : 

America has been a great ^world- ^ power ^ 'for years^ . 

— Jefferson. 

Not infrequently in excessive emphasis all the notes may 
take the falling inflection ; as thus : 

Give him orders to hang^\ all ^ traitors ^ . — Anon. 



EMPHASIS OF EMOTION 35 

In order to determine the proper place of emphasis in a 
sentence one should ask what the central idea is, and what 
words one can least afford to dispense with. Instead of be- 
ginning to declaim it, think how one would say the sentence 
colloquially to a friend. Another effective way of rinding the 
emphasis is by changing the words about in the sentence or 
by paraphrasing it. One thus ascertains the purpose of the 
sentence before giving expression to it. 

A grievous fault to guard against is excessive emphasis, 
which defeats its own purpose by particularizing too much. 
When one tries to make everything emphatic nothing is em- 
phatic. It is like excess of color, — there is no light and 
shade, no perspective. It becomes bombastic mouthing, — a 
strained, overdone style ; for 

None emphatic can that speaker call, 
Who lays an equal emphasis on all. 

SECTION II. EMPHASIS OF EMOTION 

Emphasis of Emotion addresses itself to the feelings and the 
will. While it carries with it the sense of the passage, it is not 
always applied to the sense words. The emotional words re- 
ceive the chief emphasis. For example, in the sentence, " Must 
I endure all this?" the chief sense word is endure ', and the 
chief emotional word is must. While both are strong, the 
emotional word takes precedence. 

In the following sentences the emotional words are under- 
scored and the sense words italicized : 

Have you not love enough to dear with me ? — Shakespeare. 

Portia, art thou gone ? — Shakespeare. 

What a blunt fellow is this grown to be ! — Shakespeare. 

That it should come to this ! . . . Let me not think on it ! 

— Shakespeare. 

Emphasis of emotion is a law unto itself and varies with 
individuals and with varying moods. 



36 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

SECTION III. EMPHASIS OF PULSATION 

Emphasis of Pulsation, or Pulsative Emphasis, is that by 
which a word or emotion is enforced by some bodily impulse 
or action. The law of pulsation is inherent in the physical 
organism. It manifests itself in the beating of the heart, in 
respiration, in walking, in running, and in all the activities. of 
the muscular system ; hence it represents the vital nature. Its 
expressive character may be seen in the glance of the eye, the 
nod of the head, the gesture of the hand, the stamp of the 
foot, and the physical act of the vocal organs in the light and 
heavy syllables of rhythmical language. To illustrate : 

My answer would be a blow. — Grattan. 

Inhuman wretch, take that, and that, and that. — Anonymous, 

Methinks I see him stamp thus, and call thus, "Come on, you 
cowards ! " — Shakespeare. 

That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, with arms 
encumbered thus, or this head-shake . . . note that you know 
aught of me. — Shakespeare. 

The following are illustrations of the regular recurrence of 
pulsations in the rhythm of poetry : 

Her children, hid the cliffs amid, 

Are gambolling with the gambolling kid, 

Or down the walls, with tipsy calls, 

Laugh on the rocks like waterfalls. — Read. 

Come and trip it as you go 

On the light fantastic toe. — Milton. 

It should be borne in mind that action of some kind may 
accompany any of the forms of Emphasis. But Emphasis and 
expression by means of action will be discussed fully in Part III. 

Selection illustrating Emphasis : 

Note. In the following selection let the student seek out and un- 
derscore the strongly emphatic words ; then read the selection aloud, 
tripping easily and freely over unemphatic words and phrases. 



EMPHASIS OF PULSATION 37 

IMPARTIAL ARBITRATION 

W. J. Bryan 

A speech delivered before the Inter-Parliamentary L T nion, in London, 
July 26, 1906, on a resolution introduced by Mr. Bryan asking for an 
international commission of inquiry or the mediation of friendly powers, 
in case of disputes between nations. 

The first advantage of this resolution is that it secures an in- 
vestigation of the facts, and if you can but separate the facts from 
the question of honor, the chances are one hundred to one that 
you can settle both the fact and the question of honor without 
war. There is, t herefore , a great advantage in an investi gation 
that brings out the facts, for disputed facts between nations, as 
between friends, are the cause of most disagreements. 

The second advantage of this investigation is that it gives 
time for calm consideration. That has already been well pre- 
sented by the gentleman who has preceded me. I need not say 
to you that man excited is a very different animal from man calm, 
and that questions ought to be settled not by passion but by de- 
liberation. If this resolution would do nothing else but give time 
for reflection and deliberation, there would be sufficient reason 
for its adoption. If we can but stay the hand of war until con- 
science can assert itself, war will be made more remote. When 
men are mad they swagger around and tell what they can do ; 
when they are calm they consider what they ought to do. 

The third advantage of this investigation is that it gives oppor- 
tunity to mobilize public opinion for the compelling of a peaceful 
settlement, and that is an advantage not to be overlooked. Public 
opinion is coming to be more and more a power in the world. 
One of the greatest statesmen of my country — Thomas Jefferson, 
and, if it would not offend, I would say I believe him to be the 
greatest statesman the world has produced — said that if he had 
to choose between a government without newspapers and news- 
papers without a government, he would rather risk the newspapers 
without a government. You may call it an extravagant statement, 
and yet it presents an idea, and that idea is that public opinion is 
a controlling force. I am glad that the time is coming when public 



38 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

opinion is to be more and more powerful ; glad that the time 
is coming when the moral sentiment of one nation will influence 
the action of other nations ; glad that the time is coming when 
the world will realize that a war between two nations affects 
others than the nations involved ; glad that the time is coming 
when the world will insist that nations settle their differences by 
some peaceful means. If time is given for the marshaling of the 
force of public opinion, peace will be promoted. This resolution 
is presented, therefore, for the reason that it gives an opportu- 
nity to investigate the facts and to separate them from the 
question of honor, that it gives time for the calming of passion, 
and that it gives time for the formation of a controlling public 
sentiment. 

I will not disguise the fact that I consider this resolution a 
long step in the direction of peace, nor will I disguise the fact 
that I am here because I want this Inter-Parliamentary Union to 
take just as long a step as possible in the direction of universal 
peace. We meet in a famous hall, and looking down upon us 
from these walls are pictures that illustrate not only the glory 
that is to be won in war, but the horrors that follow warfjThere 
is a picture of one of the great figures in English history (point- 
ing to the fresco by Maclise of the death of Nelson). Lord Nel- 
son is represented as dying, and around him are the mangled 
forms of others. I understand that war brings out certain virtues. 
I am aware that it gives opportunity for the display of great 
patriotism; I am aware that the example of men who give their 
lives for their country is inspiring ; but I venture to say there is 
as much inspiration in a noble life as there is in a heroic death, 
and I trust that one of the results of this Inter-Parliamentary 
Union will be to emphasize the doctrine that a life devoted to the 
public, and ever flowing, like a spring, with good, exerts an influ- 
ence upon the human race and upon the destiny of the world as 
great as any death in war.#And if you will permit me to mention 
one whose career I watched with interest and whose name I 
revere, I will say that, in my humble judgment, the sixty- four 
years of spotless public service of William Ewart Gladstone 
will, in years to come, be regarded as as rich an ornament to the 



EMPHASIS OF PULSATION 39 

history of this nation as the life of any man who poured out his 
blood upon a battlefield. 

All movements in the interest of peace have back of them the 
idea of brotherhood. If peace is to come in this world, it will 
come because people more and more clearly recognize the indis- 
soluble tie that binds each human being to every other. If we 
are to build permanent peace, it must be on the foundation of the 
brotherhood of men. A poet has described how, in the civil war 
that divided our country into two hostile camps a generation ago, 
in one battle a soldier in one line thrust his bayonet through a 
soldier in the opposing line, and how, when he stooped to draw 
it out, he recognized in the face of the fallen one the face of his 
brother. And then the poet describes the feeling of horror that 
overwhelmed the survivor when he realized that he had taken the 
life of one who was the child of the same parents and the com- 
panion of his boyhood. It was a pathetic story, but is it too much 
to hope that as years go by we will begin to understand that the 
whole human race is but a larger family? 

It is not too much to hope that as years go by human sym- 
pathy will expand until this feeling of unity will not be confined 
to the members of a family or to the members of a clan or of a 
community or state, but shall be world-wide. It is not too much 
to hope that we, in this assembly, possibly by this resolution, may 
hasten the day when we shall feel so appalled at the thought of 
the taking of any human life that we shall strive to raise all ques- 
tions to a level where the settlement will be by reason and not by 
force. 



PART II 

THE ELEMENTS OF VOCAL 
EXPRESSION 

"An Element," says Webster, "is one of the essential parts 
or principles upon which the fundamental powers of anything 
are based." The notes of the song bird and the roar of the 
mountain storm, so different in significance, accord with na- 
ture's elements of expression. These elements are as old as 
nature itself. The principles of man's vocal art are no less 
traceable to nature, — the original source from which we must 
draw our knowledge of applied elocution. All the elements of 
elocution herein set forth are heard in the sounds of nature, 
and we must learn to use them correctly if we would be natural 
in public speech. Furthermore, there is a close relation be- 
tween these elements and the triune nature of man previously 
discussed (Part I, p. 4), so that each element has its foundation 
in our inward consciousness as well as in the external realms of 
nature. 

There are four fundamental vocal elements, — (1) Time, 
(2) Quality, (3) Force, and (4) Pitch, Briefly defined, Time is 
the duration of utterance ; Quality is the kind of sound ; Force 
is the power with which sound is emitted ; and Pitch is the 
elevation or depression of the notes on the scale. These are 
essential to all utterance, since no sound can be made that does 
not embody all of them, while in their various modifications 
and combinations every shade of expression can be traced. 

As a tabular view of all the vocal elements and their triune 
relation, and for use as a reference page as each element is 
discussed, we subjoin the following diagram : 

40 



VOCAL ELEMENTS 



41 




/TIME- 

(Vital) 



( Normal 

\ Orotund,. _. 
jOral ^^* 

I Quality/^--;}; 

» (Emotive) \ Guttural< 

/ Pectoral ... 
( Aspirates- 



Form 

I (Emotive) 



■ N -%MAN 



:irr=«yital..-'' 



.MentaL 
^ital___ 



= 5= .MAN 



rrrjrii.Emotive. - — 



, Degree- 

^-1 cwi 



Stress 

(Mental) 






PITCH-. 

V(Mental) 



( Effusive — 
< Expulsive ~ 
/ Explosive.. 

( Subdued...^ 

! Moderate 

/ Energetic-' 



/Radical 

V Compound--' 

/Median 

J FinaL.-- — " 
I ThorougHm 
Vlntermittent- 



.Emotive^ 
-Mental 
..Vital % ^ 



:r^,Vital__ "" 



— %MAN 



^Mental-- 
^.Emotive-- 

= =5 yital/ 



Degree 

(Emotive) 



Change — 
(Mental; 



(High— 

< Middle ™-V. 
{Low.--- — '" 

Inflections—- 
(Mental) 



Waves- 
(Vital) 



rr^Emotive 



Intervals — 
(Emotive) 



'Single ) \ 

Double > Vital s \ 
I Continued] \^ \ 

Equal ) . \ \ 

I Unequal Emotive^v 

Direct Lr 1 .-> MAN 
k Inverted | Mental-" / 

/// 
^Semitones, _ . /,'/ 

Seconds^> Emotlve ** 

Thirds— ^Mental*' 

Fifths*-"'' _ _ ./ 
lOctaves_---^ ltal/ 



Melody- 
(Vital) 



( Current- 



Cadence - 



f Chromatic— Emotive 
Diatonic Mental ^ s> 
Broken .Vital.^ 

('Monad 

Duad^ X 
( Triad. I^i^itaK 
i Tetrad- ->'' 
I Pentad'' 



"-^♦MAN 



42 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

CHAPTER V 

TIME 

Time is the duration of utterance. It relates to the length 
of vocal sounds, syllables and words, the rests which occur be- 
tween them, and the rate with which they are uttered. Its sub- 
divisions are (i) Pause, (2) Quantity, and (3) Moveme?it. The 
relation of these divisions to the triune nature is as follows : 

fPause Mental 1 

Time <j Quantity .... Emotive y Man 
[Movement . . . Vital j 

SECTION I. PAUSE 

Pause is the time spent between syllables, words, or groups 
of words in utterance. Pause does not always imply a complete 
stoppage of sound ; the euphony of language often requires a 
gentle flow of sound between words mentally separated ; e.g. 
" Return to thy dwelling, all lonely return." Nor is the length 
of a Pause absolute ; it is relative, dependent upon the senti- 
ments to be expressed, and must be governed by the individual 
taste and judgment of the speaker. He who pauses by the 
stop watch or the counting method of a half century ago will, 
of course, read in a mechanical, unnatural way ; but the places 
for rhetorical Pauses are inherent in the language itself and 
may be definitely stated and observed without the slightest loss 
of individuality on the part of the speaker. 

1 . The Physical Necessity for Pauses is evident, since they 
afford the reader or speaker the opportunity to take breath with- 
out breaking his sentences at improper intervals. 

2. The Mental Necessity for Pauses arises out of the construc- 
tion of language. A word is " the sign of a conception or idea. " 
A single word or a group of words is necessary to the expression 
of a complete idea. The mind comprehends ideas only as they 



PAUSE 43 

are presented singly and separately, no matter how rapidly they 
may be given. Hence this process of expression which groups 
words according to their ideas, making them clear to the under- 
standing, represents the Mental nature of man. 

The necessity for grammatical Pauses which convey the 
thought of the page to the eye of the reader is fully under- 
stood, and they are indicated by a well-established system of 
punctuation marks ; were these sufficient for the oral reader or 
speaker, our treatment of this subject would end here. But 
there are many more rhetorical than grammatical Pauses, and 
often the necessities of speech require no cessation of utter- 
ance where grammatical Pauses would be placed ; for example, 
the following sentence punctuated grammatically by the usual 
marks, and rhetorically by rests, shows one of the former (the 
semicolon) and at least four of the latter. 

Shakespeare's attitude toward human life 1 will become again 
attainable to us *1 only when intelligent people *1 can return to an 
agreement on first principles ; when the common sense of the wisest 
and best among us *1 has superseded the theorizing of parties and 
factions. — Froude. 

In the following the rhetorical Pause comes before "that" 
instead of after it, as indicated by the grammatical punctuation : 

When the child went to his solitary bed, he dreamed about the 
star ; and dreamed *1 that, lying where he was he saw a train of 
people taken up that sparkling road by angels. — Dickens. 

Again the sense is often obscured or the meaning changed 
by the want of a rhetorical Pause or a misplacing of it. An 
omission of the Pause before the word "like" in the second line 
of the following would give a meaning quite opposite to that 
intended : 

And I wonder why I do not care 

For the things that are *1 like the things that were ; 
Does half my heart lie buried there 

In Texas down by the Rio Grande? — Desprez. 



44 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

On the other hand, the rhetorical Pause usually includes the 
grammatical, and often the two agree throughout an entire sen- 
tence, as in the following : 

At the dawn of civilization, *1 when men began to observe 
and think, *1 they found themselves in possession of various facul- 
ties, — *1 first their five senses, *1 and then imagination, *1 fancy, 
1 reason and memory. — Froude. 

3. Law of use. 

To meet all cases we may here lay down the fundamental 
law for the use of Pauses : Words necessary to convey each idea 
of a sentence must be grouped together and separated from 
adjacent groups by Pauses. 

But this general law which underlies all further directions is 
not sufficiently specific for the younger student of elocution, to 
say nothing of many older ones. It is, therefore, necessary to 
know the pausing-places revealed by a closer analysis of language 
construction. Rhetorical Pauses should be used : 



(1) Before 



r a. Relative Pronouns. 

b. Conjunctive Words (with exception). 

c. Prepositional Phrases (with exception). 
w d. Infinitive Phrases (with exception). 

r a. Words of a Series. 

(2) Between . . . . i b. Words marking an Ellipsis. 

[_ c. Clauses. 

( a. Nominative Phrases. 

(3) After i b. Words or Phrases used Independently. 

[ c. Words of Strong Emphasis or Emotion. 

' a. Transposed Words or Phrases. 

b. Words or Phrases used in Apposition. 

c. Direct Quotations. 

d. Parenthetical Expressions. 



(4) Before and After 



4. Explanation and illustrations. Whenever there are two 
connecting words either of which would require a Pause before 
it only one Pause is necessary and it should be placed before 



PAUSE 45 

the first word ; this is self-evident since the double influence 
of the two words would be thus served, e.g. 

He is a man 1 whom I have a great admiration for. 

He is a man *1 for whom I have a great admiration. 

Note. Only those Pauses which illustrate the particular case under 
consideration are marked in the following sentences. When the entire 
list has been gone over the student may be given further drill by mark- 
ing all the Pauses of the illustrations. 

(i) Before. 

a. Before Relative Pronouns. 

The relative pronouns who, which, what', and that, in their 
various numbers and cases, both simple and compound, always 
introduce new ideas and should have rhetorical Pauses before 
them. 

This grave offense becomes a crime *1 that works injury to the 
helpless of our community; we believe 1 whoever committed it 
should be punished ; we know 1 who did it *1 and what it was 
done for; we suspect *1 whose influence brought it about and those 
1 on whom the blame should be laid; and we may here pronounce 
the sentence 1 which an outraged public opinion will administer. 

Ik Before Conjunctive Words (with exceptions). 

Whenever a conjunctive word implies a condition or joins 
" disjunctively " it introduces a new idea in the sentence and 
therefore takes a Pause before it ; but when it is embodied in 
the idea no Pause is required. The rhetorical rather than the 
grammatical sense must determine the use of a long list of 
conjunctions. 

Though he slay me, *1 yet will I trust in him ; 1 but I will 
maintain mine own ways before him. — Bible. 

Jack and Jill went up the hill 

To fetch a pail of water ; 
But Jack fell down *1 and broke his crown 

And Jill came tumbling after. 

— Mother Goose Melodies. 



46 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

c. Before Prepositional Phrases (with exceptions). 
Whenever a prepositional phrase introduces a new idea, a 

Pause should be made before it. In the following illustration 
the prepositions in and of in the italicized clauses are embodied 
in the ideas, while with and from introduce new ideas and 
require Pauses before them : 

The foremost tiger, while yet in mid-air, curled itself up *1 with 
a gurgling cry of utter pain, 1 and with the blood gushing *1 from 
its eyes, ears, and mouth, fell heavily down dying. — Thompson. 

d. Before Infinitive Phrases (with exceptions). 

A Pause should be observed before the infinitive except 
when it is the object of a verb, in which case it does not intro- 
duce a new idea; e.g. "I want to hear her because she loves 
to talk." If the sign of the root infinitive, to, is omitted by 
ellipsis, as in the last line of the following, the Pause should 
not be omitted. 

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind *1 to suffer 

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 1 

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 

And by opposing *1 [to] end them? — Shakespeare. 

(2) Between. 

a. Between Words of a Series. 

Pauses should be made between a series of words of the 
same part of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs). In 
written or printed language these are marked by the comma 
if the conjunctions are omitted. 

These are the ascending stairs, — a good voice, 1 winning man- 
ners, 1 plain speech. — Emerson. 

We will be revenged; revenge, *1 about, *1 seek, *1 burn, *1 fire, 
*1 kill, *1 slay, — let not a traitor live ! — Shakespeare. 

Clarence is come, — false, 1 fleeting, *1 perjured Clarence. 

• — Shakespeare. 

The Stamp Act should be repealed, absolutely, *1 totally, 1 and 
immediately. — Chatham. 



PAUSE 47 

b. Between Words marking an Ellipsis. 

This applies to omitted and understood phrases as well as 
to elliptical words. 

To err is human ; to forgive, *1 divine. 

A wise man seeks to shine in himself ; a fool 1 in others. 

c. Between Clauses. 

This is self-evident, since each clause must contain a sepa- 
rate idea or set of ideas, 

Berryman Livingstone was a successful man, *1 a very success- 
ful man. It spoke in every line of his clean-cut, self-contained 
face ; *1 in every movement of his erect, trim, well-groomed figure ; 
*1 in every detail of his faultless attire ; *1 in every tone of his 
assured, assertive, incisive speech. — Thomas Nelson Page. 

The Philippines became ours, 1 ours beyond a doubt, *1 ours 
beyond the possibility of misconstruction. — Howell. 

(3) After. 

a. After Nominative Phrases. 

A Pause may be placed after a single nominative word, espe- 
cially when that word is a noun of more than ordinary im- 
portance : e.g., "Man 1 dies; the nation *1 lives"; but if a 
phrase stands for the nominative to some predicate it always 
requires a Pause after it. 

A thing of beauty *1 is a joy forever. — Keats. 

The proposal to annex by force, or purchase, or forcible purchase, 
those distant, unwilling, and semi-barbarous islands 1 is hailed 
as a new and glorious departure in American history. 

— Henry van Dyke. 

b. After Words or Phrases used Independently. 

From the significance of the term this Pause is self-evident. 

Room for the leper! 1 Room! *1 and as he came 

The cry passed on. — N P. Willis. 

A dream I had when life was new ; 

Alas, our dreams *1 they come not true! — Nadaud. 



48. ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

c. After Words of Strong Emphasis or Emotion. 

As a rule emotional Pauses are longer than the mere sense 
Pauses, but their varying lengths will depend upon the degrees 
of emotion, which, as we have seen, will be regulated by the 
individuality of the speaker. Emphasis may even separate the 
syllables of a strong word, making what is sometimes called an 
" Intersyllabic " Pause, as in the word " chastisement " below. 
Also, in very strong emotion a Pause should come before as 
well as after the emphatic words. 

Brutus. The name of Cassius honors this corruption, 

And chastisement doth therefore hide his. head. 

Cassius. Chas *1 tisement! 

— Shakespeare. 

Lady Macbeth. O, 1 proper 1 stuff! 1 

This is the very painting *1 of your fear: 
This is the air-drawn dagger *1 which, you said, 
Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws 1 and starts, 1 
Impostors to true fear, would well become 
A woman's *1 story, at a winter's fire, 
Authorized by her grandam. 1 Shame *1 itself! 

— Shakespeare. 

(4) Before and After. 

a. Transposed Words or Phrases. 

This includes all qualifying words which follow the words they 
qualify, a method so frequently employed in poetic language. 

In the morning *1 it flourisheth; in the evening 1 it is cut down. 

— Bible. 
Not for its gnarled oaks *1 olden, dark with the mistletoe. 

— Alice Cary. 

b. Before and after Words and Phrases used in Apposition. 
The appositional words or the chief nouns of the appositional 

phrases are always in the same case ; since one gives an addi- 
tional idea or explanation of the other, they should be separated 
by a Pause. 



PAUSE 49 

He was the friend of Cicero *1 the orator, *1 a citizen of Rome. 

Jaffar *1 the Barmecide, *1 the good vizier, *1 

The poor man's hope, *1 the friend without a peer, *1 

Jaffar was dead, slain by a doom unjust. 

— Leigh Hunt. 

c. Before and after Direct Quotations. 

Direct Quotations on the printed page are generally indi- 
cated by quotation marks or capitalized initials, while indirect 
quotations coming in the body of a sentence are usually intro- 
duced by the word " that," already explained. 

She said, 1 "O God! protect my child," 1 and died. 

Then Agrippa said unto Paul, *1 Thou art permitted to speak for 
thyself. *1 Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for 
himself. — Bible. 

a 7 . Before and after Parenthetical Expressions. 

Since the main sentence would be complete without the 
additional thought of the parenthesis, it is evident that the 
parenthetical word or phrase should be separated from the rest 
of the sentence by Pauses. 

He gave to misery all he had — la tear, 

He gained from Heaven, — *1 'twas all he wished, *1 a friend. 

— Gray. 
Be noble ! and the nobleness that lies 
In other men, *1 sleeping but never dead, *1 
Will rise in majesty to meet thine own. — Lowell. 

Selection for Phrasing. 

The grouping of language into its thought phrases by the 
use of rhetorical Pauses is sometimes called Phrasing, — a 
process necessary to the easy understanding of the reader or 
speaker. 

Note. In the following selection the student should indicate the 
Pauses by vertical lines in pencil, subject to the criticism of the 
instructor. In phrasing any selection the student will frequently find 



5<D ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

several reasons for the same Pause ; and, naturally enough, the markings 
of a number of students will differ somewhat, according to the different 
conceptions. This is especially true when Pauses mark strong emphasis 
or emotion ; but it should be remembered that different conceptions of 
the lines do not alter the principles governing the use of Pauses, for all 
conceptions are met in the list of pausing-places given above. 

After the Pauses are decided upon and marked the student should 
read or recite the selection, observing the Pauses by sight or memory. 
This is the only way in which concert reading — sometimes a necessary 
evil in overcrowded class rooms — can be successfully conducted ; and 
by it the responsive readings of religious services may be improved. 
By practice the student will soon learn to recognize the Pauses as 
clearly as the words, and the habit of correct phrasing without the use 
of marks will become fixed. 

In the following the first paragraph is marked by vertical lines, by w T ay 
of illustration of the method to be followed throughout the selection. 



A CHILD'S DREAM OF A STAR 
Charles Dickens 

There was once a child, | and he strolled about | a good deal, | 
and thought of a number of things. | He had a sister | who was 
a child too, | and his constant companion. J They wondered at 
the beauty of flowers ; | they wondered at the height and blueness 
of the sky ; | they wondered at the depth of the water ; | they 
wondered at the goodness and power of God, | who made them 
lovely. | 

They used to say to one another sometimes : Supposing all the 
children upon earth were to die, would the flowers, and the 
water, and the sky be sorry ? They believed they would be sorry. 
For, said they, the buds are the children of the flowers, and the 
little playful streams that gambol down the hillsides are the chil- 
dren of the water, and the smallest bright specks playing at hide 
and seek in the sky all night must surely be the children of the 
stars ; and they would all be grieved to see their playmates, the 
children of men, no more. 

There was one clear shining star that used to come out in the 
sky before the rest, near the church spire, above the graves. It 



PAUSE 51 

was larger and more beautiful, they thought, than all the others, 
and every night they watched for it, standing hand-in-hand at a 
window. Whoever saw it first, cried out, " I see the star." And 
after that, they cried out both together, knowing so well when it 
would rise, and where. So they grew to be such friends with it 
that, before laying down in their bed, they always looked out 
once again to bid it good night ; and when they were turning 
around to sleep, they used to say, " God bless the star ! " 

But while she was still very young, O, very young, the sister 
drooped, and came to be so weak that she could no longer stand 
in the window at night, and then the child looked sadly out by 
himself, and, when he saw the star, turned round and said to the 
patient pale face on the bed, " I see the star ! " and then a smile 
would come upon the face, and a little weak voice used to say, 
" God bless my brother and the star ! " 

And so the time came, all too soon, when the child looked out 
all alone, and when there was no face on the bed, and when there 
was a grave among the graves, not there before, and when the 
star made long rays down toward him as he saw it through his 
tears. 

Now these rays were so bright, and they seemed to make such 
a shining way from earth to heaven, that when the child went 
to his solitary bed, he dreamed about the star ; and dreamed that, 
laying where he was, he saw a train of people taken up that 
sparkling road by angels ; and the star, opening, showing him a 
great world of light, where many more such angels waited to 
receive them. 

All these angels, who were waiting, turned their beaming eyes 
upon the people who were carried up into the star ; and some 
came out from the long rows in which they stood, and fell upon 
the people's necks, and kissed them tenderly, and went away with 
them down avenues of light, and were so happy in their company, 
that lying in his bed he wept for joy. 

But there were many angels who did not go with them, and 
among them one he knew. The patient face that once had lain 
upon the bed was glorified and radiant, but his heart found out 
his sister among all the host. 



52 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

His sister's angel lingered near the entrance of the star, and 
said to the leader among those who had brought the people thither, 
" Is my brother come ? " 

And he said, " No ! " 

She was turning hopefully away, when the child stretched out 
his arms, and cried, " O, sister, I am here S Take me ! " And then 
she turned her beaming eyes upon him, — and it was night ; and 
the star was shining into the room, making long rays down 
towards him as he saw it through his tears. 

From that hour forth the child looked out upon the star as the 
home he was to go to when his time should come ; and he thought 
that he did not belong to the earth alone, but to the star too, be- 
cause of his sister's angel gone before. 

There was a baby born to be a brother to the child, and while 
he was so little that he never yet had spoken a word, he stretched 
out his tiny form on his bed and died. 

Again the child dreamed of the opened star, and of the company 
of angels, and the train of people, and the rows of angels, with 
their beaming eyes all turned upon those people's faces. 

Said his sister's angel to the leader, "Is my brother come?" 

And he said, "Not that one, but another! " 

As the child beheld his brother's angel in her arms, he cried, 
"O, my sister, I am here! Take me!" And she turned and 
smiled upon him, — and the star was shining. 

He grew to be a young man, and was busy at his books, when 
an old servant came to him and said, "Thy mother is no more. 
I bring her blessing on her darling son." 

Again at night he saw the star, and all that former company. 
Said his sister's angel to the leader, "Is my brother come?" 

And he said, "Thy mother!" 

A mighty cry of joy went forth through all the star, because the 
mother was reunited to her two children. And he stretched out 
his arms and cried, "O, mother, sister, and brother, I am here! 
Take me!" And they answered him, "Not yet!" — and the star 
was shining. 

He grew to be a man, whose hair was turning gray, and 
he was sitting in his chair by the fireside, heavy with grief, and 



QUANTITY 53 

with his face bedewed with tears, when the star opened once 
again. 

Said his sister's angel to the leader, "Is my brother come?" 
And he said, "Nay, but his maiden daughter!" 
And the man who had been the child saw his daughter, newly 
lost to him, a celestial creature among those three, and he said, 
" My daughter's head is on my sister's bosom, and her arm is 
around my mother's neck, and at her feet is the baby of old time, 
and I can bear the parting from her, God be praised !" — And the 
star was shining. 

Thus the child came to be an old man, and his once smooth 
face was wrinkled, and his steps were slow and feeble, and his 
back was bent. And one night as he lay upon his bed, his chil- 
dren standing round, he cried, as he cried so long ago, " I see 
the star!" 

They whispered one another, " He is dying." And he said: 
"I am. My age is falling from me like a garment, and I move 
towards the star as a child. And, O my Father, now I thank 
Thee that it has so often opened to receive those dear ones who 
await me ! " 

And the star was shining ; and it shines upon his grave. 

SECTION II. QUANTITY 

Quantity is the length of Time given to the utterance of 
sounds, syllables, and words. While Pauses, as we have seen, 
group language into its mental significance, the various lengths 
of Quantity are especially adapted to the expression of the dif- 
ferent shades of feeling or emotion. In the toll of the funeral 
bell or the groan of sorrow we hear a long attenuation of sound 
and recognize the expression of solemnity, sorrow, or gloom ; 
in the clapping of hands or the quick impulses of laughter we 
hear the shorter Quantity and recognize gladness, mirth, or 
ecstatic joy ; while in the moderate, placid flow of tone we rec- 
ognize the poise of composure or tranquillity. Quantity, then, 
is the special agent of the Emotive nature. 



54 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Quantity naturally divides into (i) Long, (2) Medium, and 
(3) Short, which, in turn, are associated with the stopt and 
continuant sounds, and the indefinite, mutable, and immutable 
syllables explained in Part I. 

1. Long Quantity. 

The length of Quantity, like that of Pauses, is relative and 
not absolute ; it is dependent upon the individuality of the 
speaker and the sentiment to be expressed. The longer Quan- 
tities are heard in nature in the cries and calls of animals, the 
groan of sorrow, the moaning of the wind, the roar of the 
ocean, etc., and are used to express sorrow, pathos, reverence, 
sublimity, apostrophe, courage, command, calling, etc. 

Long Quantity may be given only on the continuant sounds 
of indefinite and mutable syllables, as any attempt to prolong 
the stopt sounds or immutable syllables results in drawling. 
The proper use of Long Quantity gives dignity and character 
to the more serious or lofty forms of discourse ; its acoustic 
necessity in the various forms of calling or command is self- 
evident. 

In passages requiring Long Quantity seek out the words 
which embody the sentiment, and upon the continuant sounds 
and syllables of these words give Long Quantity. 

Selection for Long Quantity. • 

Note. In the following selection the student should underscore with 
pencil the words which embody the sentiment, and overscore the con- 
tinuant sounds of these words so that he may know the sounds upon 
which Long Quantity must be given. With faithful practice the eye 
and ear may thus be trained to direct quickly the right and wrong use 
of Long Quantity. If unemphatic words contain continuant sounds, they 
should not be given prominence ; nor should an attempt be made to give 
Long Quantity to the emphatic words which do not contain sufficient 
time value to warrant its use. For example, in the first two lines of the 
following poem the words O, wonderful, stream, Time, runs, realm, tears, 
may be underscored. Silent letters are not to be counted, as a in stream, 
e in Time, or a in realm. The continuant sounds to be overscored are, 



QUANTITY 55 

O, and n in wonderful, m in stream, m in Time, r and n in runs, and /#z 
in realm. The word tor.r is emphatic, but its intrinsic time values 
would not allow sufficient Quantity to be marked. 

In this manner the student should go through the entire poem and 
then read it aloud, subject to the criticism of the instructor. 



THE ISLE OF LONG AGO 
B. F. Taylor 

O, a wonderful stream is the river Time 

As it runs through the realm of tears, 
With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme, 
And a boundless sweep and a surge sublime, 

As it blends with the Ocean of Years. 

How the Winters are drifting, like flakes of snow, 

And the Summers like buds between, 
And the year in the sheaf; so they come and they go, 
On the river's breast, with its ebb and flow, 

As it glides in the shadow and sheen. 

There's a magical isle up the river Time, 

Where the softest of airs are playing; 
There's a cloudless sky and a tropical clime, 
And a song as sweet as a vesper chime, 

And the Junes with the roses are straying. 

And the name of that isle is the Long Ago, 

And we bury our treasures there ; 
There are brows of beauty and bosoms of snow ; 
There are heaps of dust, — but we loved them so! 

There are trinkets and tresses of hair; 

There are fragments of song that nobody sings, 

And a part of an infant's prayer; 
There's a lute unswept, and a harp without strings-, 
There are broken vows and pieces of rings, 

And the garments that she used to wear. 



56 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

There are hands that are waved when the fairy shore 

By the mirage is lifted in air; 
And we sometimes hear through the turbulent roar 
Sweet voices we heard in the days gone before, 

When the wind down the river is fair. 

O, remember'd for aye be the blessed isle, 

All the day of our life until night ; 
When the evening comes with its beautiful smile, 
And our eyes are closing to slumber awhile, 

May that Greenwood of Soul be in sight! 

2. Medium Quantity. 

As the word implies, this is the ordinary, unmarked Quantity, 
intermediate between Long and Short, given to utterance when 
one is not agitated by any strong emotion or unusual restraint. 
It is heard in the common conversation of all people and in 
the ordinary sounds of animate nature. It is used in elocution 
to express narration, description, didactic or heroic thought, and 
all unemphatic words which form the background and give 
contrast to the emphatic words of emotive language. 

Selection for Medium Quantity. 

Note. One of the most prolific sources of unnaturalness in reading 
and speaking is the failure to return to the easy utterance of the ordinary 
elements after the more vigorous expression of emotion. It is no small 
matter, then, to read or speak well the unemotive parts of discourse. 
The student should read aloud the following selection in a colloquial 
manner. 

THE BLUE AND THE GRAY 

Henry Cabot Lodge 

From a speech made at a dinner to the Robert E. Lee Camp of 
Confederate Veterans, in Boston, June 17, 1887 

I do not stand up in this presence to indulge in any mock senti- 
mentality. You brave men who wore the gray would be the first 
to hold me or any other son of the North in just contempt if I 



QUANTITY 57 

should say that, now it was all over, I thought the North was wrong 
and the result of the war a mistake, and that I was prepared to 
suppress my political opinions. I believe most profoundly that the 
war on our side was eternally right, that our victory was the sal- 
vation of the country, and that the results of the war were of 
infinite benefit to both North and South. But, however we differed, 
or still differ, as to the causes for which we fought then, we accept 
them as settled, commit them to history, and fight over them no 
more. To the men who fought the battles of the Confederacy we 
hold out our hands freely, frankly, and gladly. To courage and 
faith wherever shown we bow in homage with uncovered heads. 
We respect and honor the gallantry and valor of the brave men 
who fought against us, and who gave their lives and shed their 
blood in defense of what they believed to be right. We rejoice 
that the famous general whose name is borne upon your banner 
was one of the greatest soldiers of modern times, because he, too, 
was an American. We have no bitter memories to revive, no re- 
proaches to utter. Reconciliation is not to be sought, because it 
exists already. Differ in politics and in a thousand other ways we 
must and shall in all good nature, but let us never differ with each 
other on sectional or state lines, by race or creed. 

We welcome you, soldiers of Virginia, as others more eloquent 
than I have said, to New England. We welcome you to old 
Massachusetts. We welcome you to Boston and to Faneuil Hall. 
In your presence here, and at the sound of your voices beneath 
this historic roof, the years roll back and we see the figure and 
hear again the ringing tones of your great orator, Patrick Henry, 
declaring to the first Continental Congress, "The distinctions be- 
tween Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Eng- 
enders are no more. I am no Virginian, but an American." A 
distinguished Frenchman, as he stood among the graves at Arling- 
ton, said: "Only a great people is capable of a great civil war." 
Let us add with thankful hearts that only a great people is capable 
of a great reconciliation. Side by side, Virginia and Massachusetts 
led the colonies into the War for Independence. Side by side they 
founded the government of the United States. Morgan and Greene, 
Lee and Knox, Moultrie and Prescott, men of the South and men 



58 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

of the North, fought shoulder to shoulder, and wore the same uni- 
form of buff and blue, — the uniform of Washington. 

Your presence here brings back their noble memories, it breathes 
the spirit of concord, and unites with so many other voices in the 
irrevocable message of union and good will. Mere sentiment all 
this, some may say. But it is sentiment, true sentiment, that has 
moved the world. Sentiment fought the war, and sentiment has 
reunited us. When the war closed it was proposed in the newspapers 
and elsewhere to give Governor Andrew, who had sacrificed health 
and strength and property in his public duties, some immediately 
lucrative office, like the collectorship of the port of Boston. 
A friend asked him if he would take such a place. "No," said 
he; "I have stood as high priest between the horns of the altar, 
and I have poured out upon it the best blood of Massachusetts, 
and I cannot take money for that." Mere sentiment truly, but the 
sentiment which ennobles and uplifts mankind. It is sentiment 
which so hallows a bit of torn, stained bunting, that men go gladly 
to their deaths to save it. So I say that the sentiment manifested 
by your presence here, brethren of Virginia, sitting side by side 
with those who wore the blue, has a far-reaching and gracious in- 
fluence, of more value than many practical things. It tells us that 
these two grand old Commonwealths, parted in the shock of the 
Civil War, are once more side by side as in the days of the Revo- 
lution, never to part again. It tells us that the sons of Virginia and 
Massachusetts, if war should break again upon the country, will, 
as in the olden days, stand once more shoulder to shoulder, with 
no distinction in the colors that they wear. It is fraught with 
tidings of peace on earth, and you may read its meaning in the 
words on yonder picture, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, 
one and inseparable." 

3. Short Quantity. 

This is the shortest prolongation of sound consistent with the 
requirements of articulation ; for all words, however short, must 
be given sufficient Quantity to be heard. We recognize short 
Quantities in the clapping of hands, the popping of firecrackers, 
or the beat of the drum, all of which are significant in expression. 



QUANTITY 59 

In speech words are often made emphatic by the very shortness 
of the Quantity ; such words as stop, don't, quit, back, kick, pop, 
cut, stroke, and dash would be given an opposite meaning if 
uttered in Long Quantity. 

Short Quantity may be given on any sound, but for emphatic 
purposes its most effective use is on the immutable syllables 
(p. 28). It expresses such states of mind as joy, laughter, im- 
patience, contempt, fright, and excited anticipation. 

Law of use : Select the special words expressive of the senti- 
ment, give them with short Quantity, and the appropriate col- 
oring of the entire passage will be evident. 

Selection for Short Quantity, 

Note. As a rule it is less difficult to secure a correct rendition of 
Short than of Long Quantity ; but in many cases it is necessary to prac- 
tice Short Quantity to break up sluggishness of speech often heard in the 
schoolroom. In the following selection such words as coot, sudden, sparkle, 
hurry, bicker, slip, little, shatter, bubble, fret, glance, etc., should be given 
as a drill in Short Quantity and this practice applied when the selection 
is given as a whole. 

SONG OF THE BROOK 
Alfred Tennyson 

I come from haunts of coot and hern, 

I make a sudden sally, 
And sparkle out among the fern, 

To bicker down a valley. 

By thirty hills I hurry down, 

Or slip between the ridges, 
By twenty thorps, a little town, 

And half a hundred bridges. 

Till last by Philip's farm I flow 

To join the brimming river, 
For men may come and men may go, 

But I go on forever. 



60 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

I chatter over stony ways, 
In little sharps and trebles, 

I bubble into eddying bays, 
I babble on the pebbles. 

With many a curve my banks I fret 
By many a field and fallow, 

And many a fairy foreland set 
With willow-weed and mallow. 

I chatter, chatter, as I flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever. 

I wind about, and in and out, 
With here a blossom sailing, 

And here and there a lusty trout, 
And here and there a grayling; 

And here and there a foamy flake 

Upon me, as I travel 
With many a silvery waterbreak 

Above the golden gravel, 

And draw them all along, and flow 
To join the brimming river, 

For men may come and men may go, 
But I go on forever. 

I steal by lawns and grassy plots, 

I slide by hazel covers ; 
I move the sweet forget-me-nots 

That grow for happy lovers ; 

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance, 
Among my skimming swallows ; 

I make the netted sunbeams dance 
Against my sandy shallows ; 



QUANTITY 6l 

I murmur under moon and stars 

In brambly wildernesses ; 
I linger by my shingly bars ; 

I loiter round my cresses ; 

And out again I curve and flow 

To join the brimming river ; 
For men may come and men may go, 

But I go on forever. 

4. Vocal Culture of Quantity. 

Note. Aside from the application of the elements in the selections 
given, the student should engage in a systematic drill in vocal culture, that 
he may apply the elements unconsciously and naturally in practical 
speaking. There is little or no vocal culture in Pauses, but in Quantity 
the following exercises, which should be practiced before the reading 
lesson, will be found helpful and sufficient for this element. Account 
must be taken of the intrinsic time value of sounds and syllables, lest one 
fall into the habit of drawling on the one hand or of a choppy utterance 
on the other. 

(1) Give the Continuant sounds a, e, 2, 0, u, I, m, n, ng, and 
r with pure voice, prolonging each sound as much as possible 
without drawling it. 

(2) Give the Stopt sounds a, e, 1, o, 11, ft, t, s, in the shortest 
Quantity consistent with distinctness. 

(3) Practice the swell of the voice in notes of song on the 
Continuant sounds e 9 a, a, 0, I, m, n. 



(4). Pronounce distinctly with the longest consistent Quantity 
the following words : toll, tone, trice, march, all, catch, beat, arm, 
full, blood, love, home, hut, mother. 



62 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(5) Practice the following sentences in their appropriate 
Quantities : 

Move on, thou arm of the law. 

Pick it up quick, Jack. 

Swung by Seraphim whose faint footfalls tinkle on the 

tufted floor. 
And he rolls, rolls, rolls, rolls, a pean from the bells. 
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, in the icy air of night. 
Voices came at night, recalling years and years ago. 
Back to thy punishment, false fugitive. 
How it tolls for the souls of the sailors on the sea. 
And every word its ardor flung 

From off its jubilant, iron tongue, 

Was "War! War! War!" 

5. Selection illustrating all Quantities. 

Note. A close study of this selection shows that it is rich in the 
various Quantities. These may be marked before reading aloud, or they 
may be observed without the marks. 

APPEAL IN BEHALF OF IRELAND 
S. S. Prentiss 

Fellow-Citizens : It is no ordinary cause that has brought 
together this vast assemblage. We have met, not to prepare our- 
selves for political contests ; we have met, not to celebrate the 
achievements of those gallant men who have planted our vic- 
torious standards in the heart of an enemy's country ; we have 
assembled, not to respond to shouts of triumph from the West, 
but to answer the cry of want and suffering which comes from the 
East. The Old World stretches out her arms to the New. The 
starving parent supplicates the young and vigorous child for bread. 

There lies upon the other side of the wide Atlantic a beautiful 
island, famous in story and in song. Its area is not so great as 
that of the state of Louisiana, while its population is almost half 
that of the Union. It has given to the world more than its share of 
genius and of greatness. It has been prolific in statesmen, warriors, 



QUANTITY 63 

and poets. Its brave and generous sons have fought successfully 
all battles but their own. In wit and humor it has no equal ; while 
its harp, like its history, moves to tears by its sweet but melancholy 
pathos. 

Into this fair region God has seen fit to send the most terrible 
of all those fearful ministers that fulfill His inscrutable decrees. The 
earth has failed to give her increase. The common mother has for- 
gotten her offspring, and she no longer affords them their accustomed 
nourishment. Famine, gaunt and ghastly famine, has seized a nation 
with its strangling grasp. Unhappy Ireland, in the sad woes of the 
present, forgets, for a moment, the gloomy history of the past. 

O, it is terrible that, in this beautiful world which the good God 
has given us, and in which there is plenty for us all, men should 
die of starvation ! When a man dies of disease he alone endures 
the pain. Around his pillow are gathered sympathizing friends, 
who, if they cannot keep back the deadly messenger, cover his 
face and conceal the horrors of his visage as he delivers his stern 
mandate. In battle, in the fullness of his pride and strength, 
little recks the soldier whether the hissing bullet sings his sudden 
requiem, or the cords of life are severed by the sharp steel. 

But he who dies of hunger wrestles alone, day by day, with his 
grim and unrelenting enemy. He has no friends to cheer him in 
the terrible conflict ; for, if he had friends, how could he die of 
hunger ? He has not the hot blood of the soldier to maintain him ; 
for his foe, vampire-like, has exhausted his veins. Famine comes 
not up, like a brave enemy, storming, by a sudden onset, the for- 
tress that resists. Famine besieges. He draws his lines round the 
doomed garrison. He cuts off all supplies. He never summons to 
surrender, for he gives no quarter. 

Alas, for poor human nature ! how can it sustain this fearful 
warfare ? Day by day the blood recedes, the flesh deserts, the 
muscles relax, and the sinews grow powerless. At last the mind, 
which at first had bravely nerved itself against the contest, gives 
way under the mysterious influences which govern its union with the 
body. Then the victim begins to doubt the existence of an over- 
ruling Providence. He hates his fellow-men, and glares upon them 
with the longing of a cannibal ; and, it may be, dies blaspheming. 



64 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

This is one of those cases in which we may without impiety 
assume, as it were, the function of Providence. Who knows but 
that one of the very objects of this calamity is to test the benevo- 
lence and worthiness of us upon whom unlimited abundance is 
showered ? In the name, then, of common humanity, I ' invoke 
your aid in behalf of starving Ireland. Give generously and freely. 
Recollect that in so doing you are exercising one of the most God- 
like qualities of your nature, and at the same time enjoying one of 
the greatest luxuries of life. Go home and look at your family, 
smiling in rosy health, and then think of the pale, famine-pinched 
cheeks of the poor children of Ireland ; and I know you will give, 
according to your store, even as a bountiful Providence has given 
to you, — not grudgingly, but with an open hand. He who is able, 
and will not aid such a cause, is not a man, and has no right to 
wear the form. He should be sent back to Nature's mint, and 
reissued as a counterfeit on humanity of Nature's baser metal. 

SECTION III. MOVEMENT 

Movement is the rate or degree of rapidity with which a 
series of sounds or words, or a sentence, is uttered. While 
Quantity is the length of Time given to words, and Pauses 
mark the silences between them, Movement measures the 
speed in which these successive sounds and silences are given. 

In nature we hear the various degrees of Movement in the 
murmuring brook and the roaring torrent, in the howl of the 
dog and the chatter of birds, in the tranquil sounds of gentle 
breezes and the terrible crash of the hurricane. W 7 e walk 
slowly in meditation or feebleness and run in excitement; 
these manifestations are physical, and depend upon the vitality 
we use. So, under different states of mind and feeling, human 
utterance partakes of a similar variety of Movement which 
manifestly represents the Vital nature of man. 

The rate of Movement, like all other elements, depends 
upon the character of the sentiment to be expressed ; if lively, 
joyous, or impulsive, it must be rapid ; if important, grave, or 



MOVEMENT 



65 



ponderous, it must be slow. In short, if the expressive mood 
relates to the inner or reflective life, the Movement will be 
slow • if it is excited, rapid rate will be the natural pace ; and 
in the poised or balanced states of mind the ordinary or moder- 
ate Movement is appropriate. 

Movement, then, may be divided into (1) Slow, (2) Mod- 
erate, and (3) Rapid degrees, each of which may be further 
subdivided into three parts. Slow Movement, for instance, 
may have various degrees of slowness to meet the demands of 
expression. This, like all other scales in elocution, is relative, 
and is dependent upon the individuality of the speaker and 
the acoustic conditions. The whole scale of Movement must 
be slower in a large auditorium or where the difficulties of 
echo are to be overcome. One person naturally speaks faster 
or slower than another, but each should change his own scale 
in order correctly to portray the various shadings of expression. 

The utterance in the same length of time of the sentences 
below consisting of three, nine, and fifteen syllables respec- 
tively, as indicated by the following diagram, will illustrate 
approximately the relative rates of Movement from the slowest 
to the most rapid : 



H 
W 

> 

o 

3 



Slow 


3 


Syllables 


• • • 


Moderate 


9 


t , 




Rapid 


15 


« 





Slow. Fare thee well ! 

Moderate. She was conquered by her own factions. 

Rapid. Through his ear the summons stung 

As if a battle-trump had rung. 



One great cause of monotony in delivery is the lack of 
variety in Movement. This is so simple an element that it 
often escapes the attention of the student. It demands the 



66 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

greatest care until the habit of changing the speed to suit the 
changes of sentiment becomes fixed. The much-quoted injunc- 
tion of the great Mrs. Siddons to all aspiring readers, "Take 
time," is often misconstrued into "Read slowly," and applied 
to all kinds of reading; but, while one should "take time" 
and give the proper Quantity to the expressive words of the 
sentence, the utterance of the unimportant words may be 
rapid. In other words, the rate of Movement should change 
with every change of thought or emotion. The criticism, " You 
speak too fast," is usually a criticism upon articulation which 
has failed to keep pace with the Movement. Not many persons 
read or speak too rapidly ; Rapid Movement, even in pathos 
or solemnity, is generally pleasing if the articulation is clear 
and sufficient Time is given to the emotional words. 

Illustrative Selections. 

Note. In Slow Movement the Pauses and Quantities will necessarily 
be long, in Moderate Movement they will be of ordinary length, and in 
Rapid Movement of short duration. The variations will of course depend 
upon the states of feeling expressed. 

(i) Selection for Slow Movement. 

THE BURIAL OF MOSES 

C. F. Alexander 

By Nebo's lonely mountain, on this side Jordan's wave, 
In a vale in the land of Moab, there lies a lonely grave ; 
But no man dug that sepulcher, and no man saw it e'er, 
For the angels of God upturned the sod, and laid the dead man 
there. 

That was the grandest funeral that ever passed on earth ; 
But no man heard the tramping, or saw the train go forth ; 
Noiselessly as the daylight comes when the night is done, 
And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek grows into the great 
sun, — 



MOVEMENT 67 

Noiselessly as the springtime her crown of verdure weaves, 
And all the trees on all the hills open their thousand leaves, — 
So, without sound of music, or voice of them that wept, 
Silently down from the mountain crown the great procession swept. 

Lo ! when the warrior dieth, his comrades in the war, 

With arms reversed, and muffled drum, follow the funeral car. 

They show the banners taken, they tell his battles won, 

And after him lead his masterless steed, while peals the minute gun. 

Amid the noblest of the land men lay the sage to rest, 
And give the bard an honored place with costly marble dressed, 
In the great minster transept, where lights like glories fall, 
And the sweet choir sings, and the organ rings, along the embla- 
zoned wall. 

This was the bravest warrior that ever buckled sword ; 

This the most gifted poet that ever breathed a word ; 

And never earth's philosopher traced, with his golden pen, 

On the deathless page, truths half so sage, as he wrote down for men. 

And had he not high honor, the hillside for his pall ; 

To lie in state while angels wait with stars for tapers tall ; 

And the dark rock pines, like tossing plumes, over his bier to wave ; 

And God's own hand, in that lonely land, to lay him in the grave? 

Oh, lonely tomb in Moab's land, oh, dark Beth-peor's hill, 
Speak to these curious hearts of ours, and teach them to be still. 
God hath his mysteries of Grace — ways that we cannot tell ; 
He hides them deep, like the secret sleep of him he loved so well. 

(2) Selection for Moderate Movement. 

ELEMENTS OF NATIONAL WEALTH 

James G. Blaine 

The territory which we occupy is at least three million square 
miles in extent, within a fraction as large as the whole of Europe. 
The state of Texas alone is equal in area to the empire of France 



68 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

and the kingdom of Portugal united ; and yet these two monarchies 
support a population of forty millions, while Texas has but six hun- 
dred thousand inhabitants. The land that is still in the hands of 
the government, not sold or even preempted, amounts to a thousand 
million of acres, — an extent of territory thirteen times as large as 
Great Britain, and equal in area to all the kingdoms of Europe, 
Russia and Turkey alone excepted. 

Combined with this great expanse of territory, we have facili- 
ties for the acquisition and consolidation of wealth — varied, mag- 
nificent, immeasurable. The single state of Illinois, cultivated to 
its. capacity, can produce as large a crop of cereals as has ever 
been grown within the limits of the United States, while Texas, 
if peopled but half as densely as Maryland even, could give an 
annual return of cotton larger than the largest that has ever been 
grown in all the southern states combined. 

Our facilities for commerce and exchange, both domestic and 
foreign, — who shall measure them ? Our oceans, our vast inland 
seas, our marvelous flow of navigable streams, our canals, our net- 
work of railroads more than thirty thousand miles in extent, — these 
give us avenues of trade and channels of communication both 
natural and artificial such as no other nation has ever enjoyed. 
Our mines of gold and silver and iron and copper and lead and 
coal, with their untold and unimaginable wealth, spread over mil- 
lions of acres of territory, in the valley, on the mountain side, along 
rivers, yielding already a rich harvest, are destined yet to increase 
a thousandfold, until their everyday treasures, 

. . . familiar grown, 
Shall realize Orient's fabled dream. 

These are the great elements of material progress, and they 
comprehend the entire circle of human enterprise, — agriculture, 
commerce, manufactures, mining. They give into our hands, 
under the blessing of Almighty God, the power to command our 
fate as a nation. They hold out to us the grandest future reserved 
for any people ; and with this promise they teach us the lesson of 
patience, and render patience and fortitude a duty. 

With such amplitude and affluence of resources, and with such 
a vast stake at issue, we should be unworthy of our lineage and 



MOVEMENT 69 

our inheritance if we for one moment distrusted our ability to main- 
tain ourselves a united people, with "one country, one constitution, 
one destiny." 

(3) Selection for Rapid Movement. 

THE BOAT RACE, FROM "TOM BROWN AT OXFORD" 
Thomas Hughes 

The crew had just finished their early dinner. Hark ! the first 
gun ! The St. Ambrose crew fingered their oars, put a last dash 
of grease on their rowlocks, and settled their feet against the 
stretchers. "Shall we push her off?" asked "bow." "No, I can 
give you another minute," said the coxswain, who was sitting, 
watch in hand, in the stern ; "only be smart when I give the word. 
Eight seconds more only. Look out for the flash. Remember, 
all eyes in the boat." 

There it comes, at last — the flash of the starting gun. Long 
before the sound of the report can roll up the river the whole pent- 
up life and energy which has been held in leash, as it were, for the 
last six minutes is let loose, and breaks away with a bound and a 
dash which he who has felt it will remember for his life, but the 
like of which will he ever feel again ? The starting ropes drop 
from the coxswain's hands, the oars flash into the water, and 
gleam on the feather, the spray flies from them, and the boats leap 
forward. 

The crowds on the bank scatter and rush along, each keeping as 
near as it may be to its own boat. Some of the men on the towing 
path, some on the very edge of, often in, the water — some slightly 
in advance, as if they could help to drag their boat forward — some 
behind, where they can see the pulling better — but all at full speed, 
in wild excitement, and shouting at the top of their voices to those 
on whom the honor of the college is laid. "Well pulled, all ! " " Pick 
her up there, five !" "You're gaining, every stroke !" "Time in the 
bows!" "Bravo, St. Ambrose!" On they rushed by the side of 
the boats, jostling one another, stumbling, struggling, and panting 
along. 



yo ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

For the first ten strokes Tom Brown was in too great fear of 
making a mistake to feel or hear or see. His whole soul was glued 
to the back of the man before him, his one thought to keep time, and 
get his strength into the stroke. But as the crew settled down into 
the well-known long sweep, consciousness returned. While every 
muscle in his body was straining, and his chest heaved, and his 
heart leaped, every nerve seemed to be gathering new life and his 
senses to wake into unwonted acuteness. He caught the scent of 
the wild thyme in the air, and found room in his brain to wonder 
how it could have got there, as he had never seen the plant near 
the river or smelt it before. Though his eye never wandered from 
the back of the man in front of him, he seemed to see all things 
at once ; and amid the Babel of voices, and the dash and pulse of 
the stroke, and the laboring of his own breathing, he heard a voice 
coming to him again and again, and clear as if there had been no 
other sound in the air : " Steady, two ! steady! well pulled ! steady, 
steady ! " 

The voice seemed to give him strength and keep him to his 
work. And what work it was ! he had had many a hard pull in the 
last six weeks, but "never aught like this." But it can't last forever; 
men's muscles are not steel, or their lungs bull's hide, and hearts 
can't go on pumping a hundred miles an hour long without bursting. 
The St. Ambrose's boat is well away from the boat behind. There 
is a great gap between the accompanying crowds. And now, as 
they near the Gut, she hangs for a moment or two in hand, though 
the roar from the banks grows louder and louder, and Tom is 
already aware that the St. Ambrose crowd is melting into the one 
ahead of them. 

" We must be close to Exeter ! " The thought flashes into him 
and into the rest of the crew at the same moment. For, all at 
once, the strain seems taken off their arms again. There is no 
more drag. She springs to the stroke as she did at the start ; and 
the coxswain's face, which had darkened for a few seconds, light- 
ens up again. "You're gaining ! you're gaining !" now and then he 
mutters to the captain, who responds with a look, keeping his breath 
for other matters. Isn't he grand, the captain, as he comes forward 
like lightning, stroke after stroke, his back flat, his teeth set, 



MOVEMENT 71 

his whole frame working from the hips with the steadiness of a 
machine ? As the space still narrows, the eyes of the fiery little 
coxswain flash with excitement. 

The two crowds are mingled now, and no mistake ; and the shouts 
come all in a heap over the water. " Now, St. Ambrose, six strokes 
more ! " " Now, Exeter, you're gaining ; pick her up ! " " Mind the 
Gut, Exeter!" "Bravo, St. Ambrose !" The water rushes by, still 
eddying from the strokes of the boat ahead. Tom fancies now he 
can hear the voice of their coxswain. In another moment both 
boats are in the Gut, and a storm of shouts reaches them from 
the crowd. " Well steered, well steered, St. Ambrose!" is the cry. 
Then the coxswain, motionless as a statue till now, lifts his right 
hand and whirls the tassel round his head : " Give it her now, boys ; 
six strokes and we are into them !" 

And while a mighty sound of shouts, murmurs, and music went 
up into the evening sky, the coxswain shook the tiller ropes again, 
the captain shouted, "Now, then, pick her up!" and the St. Am- 
brose boat shot up between the swarming banks at racing pace to 
her landing place, the lion of the evening. 

(4) Selection for all Movements. 

Note. It is suggested that the student make a close study of the 
following selection and read it aloud for the instructor, observing the 
changes in the rate of Movement suggested by the context. Such prac- 
tice will soon fix the habit of a correct use of this principle. 

THE LEPER 

N. P. Willis 

" Room for the leper ! Room ! " and as he came 
The cry passed on. "Room for the Leper! Room!" 
And aside they stood — 

Matron, and child, and pitiless manhood — all 
Who met him on the way — and let him pass. 
And onward through the open gate he came, 
A leper with the ashes on his brow. 
Sackcloth about his loins, and on his lip 



72 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

A covering — stepping painfully and slow, 
And with difficult utterance, like one 
Whose heart is with an iron nerve put down, 
Crying, " Unclean ! unclean !" 
For Helon was a leper. 

Day was breaking, 

When at the altar of the temple stood 
The holy priest of God. The incense lamp 
Burned with a struggling light, and a low chant 
Swelled through the hollow arches of the roof, 
Like an articulate wail ; and there, alone, 
Wasted to ghastly thinness, Helon knelt. 
The echoes of the melancholy strain 
Died in the distant aisles, and he rose up, 
Struggling with weakness ; and bowed down his head 
Unto the sprinkled ashes, and put off 
His costly raiment for the leper's garb, 
And with the sackcloth round him, and his lip 
Hid in the loathsome covering, stood still, 
Waiting to hear his doom : 

" Depart ! depart, O child 

Of Israel, from the temple of thy God ! 

For he has smote thee with his chastening rod, 

And to the desert wild, 

From all thou lov'st, away thy feet must flee, 

That from thy plague his people may be free. 

" Depart ! and come not near 

The busy mart, the crowded city more ; 

Nor set thy foot a human threshold o'er ; 

And stay thou not to hear 
Voices that call thee in the way ; and fly 
From all who in the wilderness pass by. 

u Wet not thy burning lip 

In streams that to a human dwelling glide ; 



MOVEMENT 73 

Nor rest thee where the covert fountains hide ; 

Nor kneel thee down to dip 
The water where the pilgrim bends to drink, 
By desert well, or river's grassy brink. 

"And pass thou not between 

The weary traveler and the cooling breeze ; 

And lie not down to sleep beneath the trees 

Where human tracks are seen. 
Nor milk the goat that browseth on the plain, 
Nor pluck the standing corn, or yellow grain. 

"And now depart ! and when 

Thy heart is heavy, and thine eyes are dim, 

Lift up thy prayer beseechingly to Him 

Who, from the tribes of men, 
Selected thee to feel his chastening rod : 
Depart, O leper! and forget not God." 

And he went forth, — alone ! Not one of all 
The many whom he loved, nor she whose name 
Was woven in the fibers of the heart, 
Breaking within him now, to come and speak 
Comfort unto him. Yea, he went his way, — 
Sick and heartbroken, and alone, — to die ! 
For God had cursed the leper. 

It was noon, 
And Helon knelt beside a stagnant pool 
In the lone wilderness, and bathed his brow, 
Hot with the burning leprosy, and touched 
The loathsome water to his fevered lips, 
Praying he might be so blest, — to die ! 
Footsteps approached, and with no strength to flee, 
He drew the covering closer on his lip, 
Crying, " Unclean ! unclean ! " and in the folds 
Of the coarse sackcloth, shrouding up his face, 
He fell upon the earth till they should pass. 
Nearer the stranger came, and bending o'er 



74 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The leper's prostrate form, pronounced his name, 

" Helon ! " The voice was like the master tone 

Of a rich instrument, — most strangely sweet ; 

And the dull pulses of disease awoke, 

And for a moment beat beneath the hot 

And leperous scales with a restoring thrill. 

" Helon, arise !" And he forgot his curse, 

And rose and stood before him. Love and awe 

Mingled in the regard of Helon's eye 

As he beheld the stranger. He was not 

In costly raiment clad, nor on his brow 

The symbol of a princely lineage wore ; 

No followers at his back, nor in his hand 

Buckler, sword, or spear ; yet in his mien 

Command sat throned serene, and if he smiled, 

A kingly condescension graced his lips, 

The lion would have crouched to in his lair. 

His garb was simple and his sandals worn ; 

His statue modeled with a perfect grace ; 

His countenance, the impress of a God, 

Touched with the open innocence of a child ; 

His eye was blue and calm, as is the sky 

In the serenest noon ; his hair unshorn 

Fell to his shoulders ; and his curling beard 

The fullness of perfected manhood bore. 

He looked on Helon earnestly awhile, 

As if his heart was moved, and, stooping down, 

He took a little water in his hand 

And laid it on his brow, and said, " Be clean ! " 

And lo ! the scales fell from him, and his blood 

Coursed with delicious coolness through his veins, 

And his dry palms grew moist, and on his brow 

The dewy softness of an infant stole. 

His leprosy was cleansed, and he fell down 

Prostrate at Jesus' feet, and worshiped him. 



QUALITY 75 

CHAPTER VI 

QUALITY 

Quality is the kind or character of sound, — the purity or 
impurity of voice. This vocal element is easily recognized in 
various voices and is peculiar to each individual. We soon 
learn to know a person by the sound of his voice. A child's 
voice, a woman's voice, a man's voice, or the voice of a dog, 
a horse, or a song bird are essentially different in Quality 
because of the size and shape of the vocal organs of each. 

Our states of mind and feeling are shown in these Qualities. 
If we say "Good morning," in a pleasant, happy frame of 
mind ; then utter the words, "Oh ! I'm so tired," in a weary, 
languid manner; then give the words, "I hate you!" in an 
angry mood ; then whisper the secret injunction, " Boys, be 
still"; and lastly, if we scream, under the influence of fright 
or terror, we easily recognize different Qualities of voice. 

A distinguishing characteristic of each Quality is its reso- 
nance, which is the strengthening or reenforcing of vibrations 
in the cavities of the head, throat, and chest. Repeat the 
words of Darius Green, "The birds can fly and why can't I ?" 
in a nasal, twanging tone ; then utter in a peaceful, tranquil 
manner, "How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank"; 
then give in a bold, patriotic way the sentence, "Thou too sail 
on, O Ship of State ! Sail on, O Union, strong and great !"; 
and lastly, speak in a deep, hollow, sepulchral tone the words 
" 'Tis midnight's holy hour"; and we clearly detect a deep- 
ening of the resonance from the first to the last quotation. It 
will be seen, then, that we have the power to change resonance 
at will, and, by this process, change the Quality of voice in a 
natural and effective way. This may be likened to the stops of 
the pipe organ, by which the musician changes the Quality of 
the tone, though the key, time, and melody remain unchanged. 
The reader, like the organist, must "know his stops." 



j6 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Every person at any period of life has a normal, predomi- 
nant Quality of voice and seven other distinct Qualities in 
various stages of development ; these are technically called, 
(i) Normal, (2) Orotund, (3) Oral, (4) Nasal, (5) Falsetto, 
(6) Guttural, (7) Pectoral, and (8) Aspirate. 

Relation to Man's Triune Nature. 

We have seen that Quality, broadly speaking, represents 
the Emotive nature of man ; but a closer analysis reveals the 
fact that each Quality responds more especially to some one 
XT , or two of our three na- 

Normal __ \ 

Orotund.— ""::---* Mental j tures. These relations 

Oral..^ \ / are shown in the follow- 

quality / NasaU -" : - :: --^vital )man in g diagram, and will be 

Falsetto.— —-"">' / r n i • j 

, ^' more fully explained as 

Gutturals' I J r 

Pectorai..?:.:::2 V ,Emotive each Quality is studied 

.Aspirate,--""' / and illustrated. 

Note. The Qualities of voice are no more difficult to learn nor less 
practical in application than the essential elements of any other science 
prescribed in a curriculum. In fact, it has been shown that every stu- 
dent is already in possession of them, but, like all other powers, they 
need cultivation and intelligent application so that the speaker may 
use them correctly, effectively, and unconsciously while speaking. The 
teacher will understand that any given Quality of one voice may be 
quite unlike that of another voice ; the care will be to have each stu- 
dent make his own Qualities at their best. The secret of successful use 
of these and all elements of expression lies in the practice of them with 
a full realization of the sentiments or emotions they imply. 



SECTION I. NORMAL QUALITY 

The Normal is the ordinary, predominant Quality of voice 
peculiar to each individual. It is the basis of all the other 
Qualities, each of which is some modification of or variation 
from the Normal. A speaker's Normal may be very harsh and 



NORMAL QUALITY jj 

impure, yet it is no less his own habitual tone. The most 
agreeable and effective Normal is pure in Quality ; the vibra- 
tions of the vocal cords are smooth and even, the resonance 
is in the upper and back part of the mouth, and there is but 
little escape of unvocalized breath. 

In the sounds of nature this Quality is heard in the rippling 
brook, the song of birds, the prattle and laughter of children, 
and in the common conversation of all peoples. It belongs to 
the Mental division of man's triune nature because it is the 
natural expression of our ordinary thoughts and moods when we 
are not influenced by any unusual restraint or strong emotion. 
It is used then to express ordinary thought and emotion such 
as solemnity, tranquillity, mild pathos, conversation, didactic 
thought, gladness, joy, mirth, and laughter. 

The use of a pure Normal is an economic method, for it has 
greater carrying power than any other Quality, requires less 
effort and less expenditure of breath, and is more easily heard 
by the audience, to say nothing of the pleasing impression of a 
good voice. To acquire it, practice on the vowel sounds, use 
a pure Normal habitually in conversation, and, with a full reali- 
zation of the sentiment, read aloud or recite such selections as 
the following : 

Selection illustrating Normal Quality. 

Note. When the illustrative selection contains a great predomi 
nance of the element under consideration, the lines are unmarked ; but 
when a few words of the selection illustrate the particular element in 
question they will be underscored. 

A SECOND TRIAL 

Sarah Winter Kellogg 

It was Commencement at one of our colleges. The people were 
pouring into the church as I entered it, rather tardy. Finding the 
choice seats in the center of the audience room already taken, I 



78 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

pressed forward, looking to the right and to the left for a vacancy. 
On the very front row of seats I found one. 

Here a little girl moved along to make room for me, looking into 
my face with large gray eyes, whose brightness was softened by 
very long lashes. Her face was open and fresh as a newly blown 
rose before sunrise. Again and again I found my eyes turning to 
the roselike face, and each time the gray eyes moved, half smiling, 
to meet mine. Evidently the child was ready to "make up" with 
me. And when, with a bright smile, she returned my dropped hand- 
kerchief, and I said, "Thank you!" we seemed fairly introduced. 
Other persons, now coming into the seat, crowded me quite close 
up against the little girl, so that we soon felt very well acquainted. 

"There's going to be a great crowd," she said to me. 

"Yes," I replied; "people always like to see how school boys 
are made into men." 

Her face beamed with pleasure and pride as she said: "My 
brother's going to graduate ; he's going to speak ; I've brought 
these flowers to throw to him." 

They were not greenhouse favorites ; just old-fashioned domestic 
flowers, such as we associate with the dear grandmothers ; "but," 
I thought, "they will seem sweet and beautiful to him for little 
sister's sake. " 

"That is my brother," she went on, pointing with her nosegay. 

"The one with the light hair?" I asked. 

"Oh, no," she said, smiling and shaking her head in innocent 
reproof ; "not that homely one ; that handsome one with brown 
wavy hair. His eyes look brown, too ; but they are not — they are 
dark blue. There ! he's got his hand up to his head now. You see 
him, don't you ?" 

In an eager way she looked from me to him, and from him to 
me, as if some important fate depended upon my identifying her 
brother. 

"I see him," I said. "He's a very good-looking brother." 

"Yes, he is beautiful," she said, with artless delight ; "and he's 
so good, and he studies so hard. He has taken care of me ever 
since mamma died. Here is his name on the programme. He is 
not the valedictorian, but he has an honor, for all that." 



NORMAL QUALITY 79 

I saw in the little creature's familiarity with these technical col- 
lege terms that she had closely identified herself with her brother's 
studies, hopes, and successes. 

"His oration is a real good one, and he says it beautifully. He 
has said it to me a great many times. 1 'most know it by heart. 
Oh ! it begins so pretty and so grand. This is the way it begins," 
she added, encouraged by the interest she must have seen in my 
face: "'Amid the permutations and combinations of the actors 
and the forces which make up the great kaleidoscope of history, 
we often find that a turn of Destiny's hand — ' " 

"Why, bless the baby ! " I thought, looking down into her bright, 
proud face. I can't describe how very odd and elfish it did seem 
to have those big words rolling out of the smiling, childish mouth. 

As the exercises progressed, and approached nearer and nearer 
the effort on which all her interest was concentrated, my little 
friend became excited and restless. Her eyes grew larger and 
brighter, two deep red spots glowed on her cheeks. 

"Now, it's his turn," she said, turning to me a face in which 
pride and delight and anxiety seemed about equally mingled. But 
when the overture was played through, and his name was called, 
the child seemed, in her eagerness, to forget me and all the earth 
beside him. She rose to her feet and leaned forward for a better 
view of her beloved, as he mounted to the speaker's stand. I knew 
by her deep breathing that her heart was throbbing in her throat. 
I knew, too, by the way her brother came up the steps and to the 
front that he was trembling. The hands hung limp ; his face was 
pallid, and the lips blue as with cold. I felt anxious. The child, 
too, seemed to discern that things were not well with him. Some- 
thing like fear showed in her face. 

He made an automatic bow. Then a bewildered, struggling 
look came into his face, then a helpless look, and then he stood 
staring vacantly, like a somnambulist, at the waiting audience. 
The moments of painful suspense went by, and still he stood as if 
struck dumb. I saw how it was ; he had been seized with stage 
fright. 

Alas! little sister! She turned her large, dismayed eyes upon 
me. "He's forgotton it," she said. Then a swift change came 



80 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

into her face ; a strong, determined look ; and on the funeral-like 
silence of the room broke the sweet, brave child-voice: "'Amid 
the permutations and combinations of the actors and the forces 
which make up the great kaleidoscope of history, we often find 
that a turn of Destiny's hand — '" 

Everybody about us turned and looked. The breathless silence ; 
the sweet, childish voice ; the childish face ; the long, unchildlike 
words, produced a weird effect. 

But the help had come too late ; the unhappy brother was 
already staggering in humiliation from the stage. The band quickly 
struck up, and waves of lively music rolled out to cover the defeat. 

I gave the little sister a glance in which I meant to show the 
intense sympathy I felt ; but she did not see me. Her eyes, swim- 
ming with tears, were on her brother's face. I put my arm around 
her, but she was too absorbed to heed the caress, and before I 
could appreciate her purpose, she was on her way to the shame- 
stricken young man sitting with a face like a statue's. 

When he saw her by his side the set face relaxed, and a quick 
mist came into his eyes. The young men got closer together to 
make room for her. She sat down beside him, laid her flowers on 
his knee, and slipped her hand in his. 

I could not keep my eyes from her sweet, pitying face. I saw 
her whisper to him, he bending a little to catch her words. Later, 
I found out that she was asking him if he knew his "piece" now, 
and that he answered " Yes." 

When the young man next on the list had spoken, and while the 
band was playing, the child, to the brother's great surprise, made 
her way up the stage steps, and pressed through the throng of 
professors and trustees and distinguished visitors, up to the college 
president. 

"If you please, sir," she said with a little courtesy, "will you 
and the trustees let my brother try again? He knows his piece 
now." 

For a moment the president stared at her through his gold- 
bowed spectacles, and then, appreciating the child's petition, he 
smiled on her, and went down and spoke to the young man who 
had failed. 



OROTUND QUALITY 8 I 

So it happened that when the band had again ceased playing, 

it was briefly announced that Mr. would now deliver his 

oration, "Historical Parallels." 

A ripple of heightened and expectant interest passed over the 
audience, and then all sat stone still, as though fearing to breathe 
lest the speaker might again take fright. No danger ? The hero 
in the youth was aroused. He went at his "piece" with a set pur- 
pose to conquer, to redeem himself, and to bring the smile back 
into the child's tear-stained face. I watched the face during the 
speaking. The wide eyes, the parted lips, the whole rapt being 
said that the breathless audience was forgotten, that her spirit was 
moving with his. 

And when the address was ended with the ardent abandon of one 
who catches enthusiasm in the realization that he is fighting down 
a wrong judgment and conquering a sympathy, the effect was really 
thrilling. That dignified audience broke into rapturous applause ; 
bouquets intended for the valedictorian rained like a tempest. And 
the child, the child who had helped to save the day, — that one 
beaming little face, in its pride and gladness, is something to be 
forever remembered. 



SECTION II. OROTUND QUALITY 

The Orotund is a clear, smooth, voluminous Quality, the 
resonance of which is in the upper part of the chest. It has 
the purity of the Normal but is larger in volume and greater 
in strength. As a manifestation of our being it carries all the 
mentality of the Normal with the added vitality of this the 
strongest of Qualities ; so it represents both the Mental and 
Vital natures. It is heard in nature in the roar of the ocean, 
the sound of thunder, the booming of distant cannon, and the 
low, deep tones of the pipe organ. As an agent of expression 
it is used to convey thoughts and emotions of a sublime and 
lofty nature, such as reverence, sublimity, grandeur, patriotism, 
lofty oratorical thought, courage, defiance, and alarm. 



82 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The acquisition of this Quality adds greatly to the powers of 
the speaker who would reach the strong climaxes of impassioned 
oratory. Like all other elements, it must be employed only in 
the utterance of its appropriate sentiments. Most speakers 
need to cultivate this Quality. To produce it one should keep 
in mind grand and lofty thoughts, open wide the cavities of 
the pharynx, larynx, and chest, and so project and reflect the 
sound that it shall be clear and full and especially reenforced 
by the resonant vibrations of the upper chest. 

Selection illustrating the Orotund. 

Note. As conceptions of the lines of any selection differ, so the 
rendition of readers must differ; but it will generally be agreed that 
the greater part of the following poem will be most appropriately given 
in Orotund Quality. 

BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC 

Julia Ward Howe 

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord ; 
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored ; 
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword : 
His truth is marching on. 

I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps ; 
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps ; 
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps : 
His day is marching on. 

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel : 
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal ; 
Let the hero born of woman crush the serpent with his heel, 
Since God is marching on." 

He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat, 
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat. 
Oh ! be swift, my soul, to answer Him ! Be jubilant my feet ! 
Our God is marching; on. 



ORAL QUALITY 83 

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, 
With the glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me ; 
As He died to make men holy let us die to make men free, 
While God is marching on. 



SECTION III. ORAL QUALITY 

The Oral is a thin, feeble Quality, with the resonance in the 
forward part of the mouth. It is the opposite of the Orotund 
in strength, resonance, and significance, and is produced by a 
weak projection of breath, a feeble vibration of the vocal cords, 
and a shallowness of the resonant cavities. In fact, it is the 
physical result of feebleness or exhaustion, and always repre- 
sents a low state of inherent or exerted vitality ; therefore k 
logically belongs to the Vital division of our triune nature. 
It is heard in nature in the voice of a human being or lower 
animal when exhausted by sickness or fatigue. It is used 
generally in an impersonative sense to express sickness, feeble- 
ness, idiocy, timidity, la?iguor, and fatigue. 

The Oral wrongly used, or as a fixed habit of voice, becomes 
a serious fault in expression, and as such should be avoided ; 
but its correct use in the portrayal of the above-named condi- 
tions is unmistakable. 

Selection illustrating Oral Quality. 

Note. The impersonative parts of the following selection should be 
read with different degrees of Oral Quality. Strive for a weak, thin tone 
in this impersonation. 

THE OCEAN BURIAL 

Captain William H. Saunders, U.S.A. 

"O, bury me not in the deep, deep sea ! " 
These words came low and mournfully 
From the pallid lips of a youth who lay 
On his cabin couch, at the close of day. 



84 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

He had wasted and pined, 'till o'er his brow 
The death-shade had slowly pass'd ; and now, 
When the land and his fond-loved home were nigh, 
They had gather'd around to see him die. 

"O, bury me not in the deep, deep sea, 

Where the billowy shroud will roll over me, 

Where no light will break through the dark cold wave, 

And no sunbeam rest upon my grave ! 

It matters not, I have oft been told, 

Where the body shall lie when the heart is cold ; 

Yet grant ye, O, grant ye this one boon to me, 

O, bury me not in the deep, deep sea ! 

"For in fancy I've listen'd to the well-known words, 
The free wild winds, and the songs of the birds ; 
I have thought of home, of cot and bower, 
And of scenes that I loved in childhood's hour : 
I have even hoped to be laid, when I died, 
In the churchyard there, on the green hillside ; 
By the bones of my fathers my grave should be : 
O, bury me not in the deep, deep sea. 

"Let my death slumbers be where a mother's prayer 
And a sister's tear shall be mingled there : 
O, 'twill be sweet, ere the heart's throb is o'er, 
To know, when its fountains shall gush no more, 
That those it so fondly hath yearn'd for will come 
To plant the first wild flowers of spring on my tomb ; 
Let me lie where those loved ones will weep o'er me : 
O, bury me not in the deep, deep sea. 

"And there is another ; her tears would be shed 

For him who lay far in the deep ocean bed : 

In hours that it pains me to think of now, 

She hath twined these locks and hath kiss'd this brow : 

In the hair she hath wreathed shall the sea snake hiss, 

And the brow she hath press'd shall the cold wave kiss ? 



NASAL QUALITY 85 

For the sake of the bright one that waiteth for me, 
O, bury me not in the deep, deep sea. 

"She hath been in my dreams," — his voice fail'd there. 
They gave no heed to his dying prayer ; 
They lower'd him slow o'er the vessel's side ; 
Above him has closed the dark, cold tide, 
Where to dip their light wings the sea-fowls rest, 
Where the blue waves dance o'er the ocean's crest, 
Where billows bound, and the winds sport free : 
They have buried him there in the deep, deep sea. 



SECTION IV. NASAL QUALITY 

The Nasal is an impure, twanging head tone, with the reso- 
nance in the front nasal cavities. It is made by lowering the 
soft palate and projecting the sound at such an angle that it 
finds its reenforcing vibrations in the forward parts of the nasal 
cavities. It is heard in the lazy call of the street peddler, the 
discordant braying of the donkey, and in the wheezing tones 
of an imperfect bagpipe. As an habitual tone it is the result 
of careless habits of speech or of obstructions due to a diseased 
condition of the nasal cavities, and as such it is a grave defect 
in the speaker. Representing thus a strongly marked condition 
of the vocal organs, and bearing the stamp of the physical 
result in vocality, it must be placed in the Vital division of the 
triune nature. Under control of the will it is used in an imper- 
sonative sense to express laziness, mimicry, mockery, burlesque, 
or drollery ; and in the expression of more serious thought it 
is often employed to give special pungency to irony, sarcasm, 
sneer, and contempt. 

Selection illustrating Nasal Quality. 

Note. From the descriptions of Darius Green in the following poem 
it is generally conceded that all personations of him should be given in 
Nasal Quality. 



86 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

DARIUS GREEN AND HIS FLYING MACHINE 

J. T. Trowbridge 

If ever there lived a Yankee lad, 

Wise or otherwise, good or bad, 

Who, seeing the birds fly, didn't jump 

With flapping arms from stake or stump, 

Or, spreading the tail of his coat for a sail, 

Take a soaring leap from post or rail, 

And wonder why he couldn't fly, 

And flap and flutter and wish and try, — 

If ever you knew a country dunce 

Who didn't try that as often as once, 

All I can say is, that's a sign 

He never would do for a hero of mine. 

An aspiring genius was Dary Green : 

The son of a farmer, — age fourteen ; 

His body was long and lank and lean, — 

Just right for flying, as will be seen ; 

He had two eyes as bright as a bean, 

And a freckled nose that grew between, 

A little awry ; for I must mention 

That he had riveted his attention 

Upon his wonderful invention, 

Twisting his tongue as he twisted the strings, 

And working his face as he work'd the wings, 

And with every turn of gimlet or screw 

Turning and screwing his mouth round too, 

Till his nose seem'd bent to catch the scent, 

Around some corner, of new-baked pies, 

And his wrinkled cheeks and his squinting eyes 

Grew pucker'd into a queer grimace, 

That made him look very droll in the face, 

And also very wise. 
And wise he must have been, to do more 
Than ever a genius did before, 



NASAL QUALITY 87 

Excepting Daedalus of yore 
And his son Icarus, who wore 
Upon their backs those wings of wax 
He had read of in the old almanacs. 
Darius was clearly of the opinion, 
That the air is also man's dominion, 
And that, with paddle or fin or pinion, 
We soon or late shall navigate 
The azure as now we sail the sea. 
The thing looks simple enough to me ; 

And, if you doubt it, 
Hear how Darius reason'd about it : 

"The birds can fly, an' why can't I ? 

Must we give in," says he with a grin, 

"That the bluebird an' phcebe are smarter'n we be ? 

Jest fold our hands, an' see the swaller 

An' blackbird an' catbird beat us holler ? 

Does the little chatterin', sassy wren, 

No bigge'rn my thumb, know more than men ? 

Jest show me that ! ur prove 't the bat 

Hez got more brains than's in my hat, 

An' I'll back down, an' not till then ! " 

He argued further : "Nur I can't see 

What's th' use o' wings to a bumblebee, 

Fur to git a livin' with, more'n to me ; — 

Ain't my business important's his'n is ? 

That Icarus made a pretty muss, — 

Him an' his daddy Daedalus ; 

They might 'a' know'd that wings made o' wax 

Wouldn't stand sun-heat an' hard whacks: 

I'll make mine o' luther, ur suthin' ur other." 

And he said to himself, as he tinker'd and plann'd, 
"But I ain't goin' to show my hand 
To nummies that never can understand 
The fust idee that's big an' grand." 



88 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

So he kept his secret from all the rest, 

Safely button'd within his vest; 

And in the loft above the shed 

Himself he locks, with thimble and thread 

And wax and hammer and buckles and screws, 

And all such things as geniuses use ; — - 

Two bats for patterns, curious fellows ! 

A charcoal pot and a pair of bellows ; 

Some wire, and several old umbrellas ; 

A carriage cover for tail and wings ; 

A piece of harness ; and straps and strings ; 

And a big strong box, in which he locks 

These and a hundred other things. 

His grinning brothers, Reuben and Burke 

And Nathan and Jotham and Solomon, lurke 

Around the corner to see him work, 

Sitting crosslegg'd, like a Turk, 

Drawing the wax'd end through with a jerk, 

And boring the holes with a comical quirk 

Of his wise old head, and a knowing smirk. 

But vainly they mounted each other's backs, 

And poked through knot holes and pried through cracks. 

With wood from the pile and straw from the stacks 

He plugg'd the knot holes and calk'd the cracks ; 

And a dipper of water, which one would think 

He had brought up into the loft to drink 

When he chanced to be dry, 

Stood always nigh, for Darius was sly ! 

And, whenever at work he happen'd to spy 

At chink or crevice a blinking eye, 

He let the dipper of water fly : 

"Take that ! an', ef ever ye git a peep, 

Guess ye'll ketch a weasel asleep S " 

And he sings as he locks his big strong box : 

"The weasel's head is small an' trim, 
An' he is little an' long an' slim, 



NASAL QUALITY 89 

An' quick of motion an' nimble of limb, 

An', ef you'll be advised by me, 

Keep wide awake when ye're'ketchin' him !" 

So day after day 
He stitch'd and tinker'd and hammer'd away, 

Till at last 'twas done, — 
The greatest invention under the Sun ! 
"An' now," says Darius, "hooray fur some fun!" 

'Twas the Fourth of July, and the weather was dry, 

And not a cloud was on all the sky, 

Save a few light fleeces, which here and there, 

Half mist, half air, 
Like foam on the ocean went floating by, — 
Just as lovely a morning as ever was seen 
For a nice little trip in a flying machine. 
Thought cunning Darius, "Now I shan't go 
Along 'ith the fellers to see the show : 
I'll say I've got sich a terrible cough ! 
An' then, when the folks 'ave all gone off, 
I'll hev full swing fur to try the thing, 
An' practice a little on the wing." 

"Ain't goin' to see the celebration?" 
Says brother Nate. "No; botheration! 
I've got sich a cold — a toothache — I — 
My gracious ! — feel's though I should fly ! " 
Said Jotham, " 'Sho ! guess ye better go." 

But Darius said, "No ! 
Shouldn't wonder 'f you might see me, though, 
'Long 'bout noon, ef I git red 
O' this jumpin', thumpin' pain 'n my head." 
For all the while to himself he said, — 

" I tell ye what ! 
I'll fly a few times around the lot, 
To see how 't seems, then soon's I've got 



go ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The hang o' the thing, ez likely's not, 

I'll astonish the nation, an' all creation, 

By flyin' over the celebration ! 

Over their heads I'll sail like an eagle ; 

I'll balance myself on my wings like a sea gull ; 

I'll dance on the chimbleys ; I'll stand on the steeple ; 

I'll flop up to winders an' scare the people ! 

I'll light on the liberty pole, an' crow ; 

An' I'll say to the gawpin' fools below, 

'What world's this 'ere that I've come near?' 

Fur I'll make 'em b'lieve I'm a chap f 'm the Moon ; 

An' I'll try a race 'ith their oP balloon!" 

He crept from his bed ; 
And, seeing the others were gone, he said, 
" I'm gittin' over the cold 'n my head." 

And away he sped, 
To open the wonderful box in the shed. 

His brothers had walk'd but a little way, 

When Jotham to Nathan chanced to say, 

"What is the feller up to, hey? " 

"Don'o', — the's suthin' ur other to pay, 

Ur he wouldn't 'a' stay'd to hum to-day." 

Says Burke, "His toothache's all 'n his eye ! 

He never'd miss a Fo'th-o'-July, 

Ef he hedn't got some machine to try." 

Then Sol, the little one, spoke : " By darn 

Le's hurry back, an' hide 'n the barn, 

An' pay him fur tellin' us that yarn ! " 

" Agreed ! " Through the orchard they creep back, 

Along by the fences, behind the stack, 

And one by one, through a hole in the wall, 

In under the dusty barn they crawl, 

Dress'd in their Sunday garments all ; 

And a very astonishing sight was that, 

When each in his cobwebb'd coat and hat 



NASAL QUALITY 91 

Came up through the floor like an ancient rat. 
And there they hid ; and Reuben slid 
The fastenings back, and the door undid. 

" Keep dark ! " said he, 
" While I squint an' see what the' is to see. 

As knights of old put on their mail, — 

From head to foot an iron suit, 

Iron jacket and iron boot, 

Iron breeches, and on the head 

No hat, but an iron pot instead, 

And under the chin the bail, 

(I believe they call'd the thing a helm,) — 

Then sallied forth to overwhelm 

The dragons and pagans that plagued the realm ; 

So this modern knight prepared for flight, 

Put on his wings and strapp'd them tight, — 

Jointed and jaunty, strong and light, — 

Buckled them fast to shoulder and hip, — 

Ten feet they measured from tip to tip ! 

And a helm had he, but that he wore, 

Not on his head, like those of yore, 

But more like the helm of a ship. 

11 Hush ! " Reuben said, "he's up in the shed ! 
He's open'd the winder, — I see his head ! 
He stretches it out, an' pokes it about, 
Lookin' to see 'f the coast is clear, 

An' nobody near ; — 
Guess he don'o' who's hid in here ! 
He's riggin' a springboard over the sill ! 
Stop laffin', Solomon ! Burke, keep still ! 
He's a climbin' out now — Of all the things ! 
What's he got on ? I van, it's wings ! 
An' that t'other thing ? I vum, it's a tail ! 
An' there he sets like a hawk on a rail ! 
Steppin' careful, he travels the length 



92 ESSE'NTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Of his springboard, and teeters to try its strength. 

Now he stretches his wings, like a monstrous bat ; 

Peeks over his shoulder, this way an' that, 

Fur to see 'f the' 's any one passin' by, 

But the' 's on'y a ca'f an' a goslin' nigh. 

They turn up at him wonderin' eye, 

To see — The dragon ! he's goin' to fly ! 

Away he goes ! Jimminy ! what a jump ! 

Flop — flop — an' plump to the ground with a thump 1 

Flutt'rin' an' flound'rin', all'n a lump ! " 

As a demon is hurl'd by an angel's spear, 

Heels over head, to his proper sphere, — 

Heels over head, and head over heels, 

Dizzily down the abyss he wheels, — 

So fell Darius. Upon his crown, 

In the midst of the barnyard, he came down, 

In a wonderful whirl of tangled strings, 

Broken braces and broken springs, 

Broken tail and broken wings, 

Shooting stars, and various things, — 

Barnyard litter of straw and chaff, 

And much that wasn't so sweet by half. 

Away with a bellow fled the calf, 

And what was that ? Did the gosling laugh ? 

'T is a merry roar from the old barn door, 

And he hears the voice of Jotham crying, 

" Say, D'rius ! how do you like flyin' ? " 

Slowly, ruefully, where he lay, 

Darius just turn'd and look'd that way, 

As he stanch'd his sorrowful nose with his cuff. 

" Wal, I like flyin' well enough," 

He said ; "but the' ain't sich a thunderin' sight 

O' fun in't when ye come to light." 

I just have room for the moral here : 

And this is the moral, — Stick to your sphere ; 



FALSETTO QUALITY 93 

Or, if you insist, as you have the right, 
On spreading your wings for a loftier flight, 
The moral is, — Take care how you light. 

SECTION V. FALSETTO QUALITY 

The Falsetto is a pure, shrill, penetrating Quality ranging 
above the ordinary Pitch, with the resonance in the upper part 
of the pharynx. It is literally the " false voice," and begins 
where the ordinary tone " outruns its compass" and breaks 
into a very high tone, which may range over an additional 
octave or more of Pitch. It is heard in nature in the cry of 
a whipped dog, the feeble voice of old age, the scream of a 
frightened child, the shriek of intense pain, and in the excited 
cheers of a crowd. It shows a condition of physical excitability 
in which the impelling emotion has unpoised the vital powers 
for the moment and the vocal utterance has outrun the natural 
compass \ so this Quality plainly represents a physical condition 
of utterance and belongs to the Vital class in our triune divi- 
sion. It is sometimes due to a weakness and lack of control of 
the vocal cords, and habitual breaking of the voice is the result ; 
such a habit is a serious fault and should be overcome by 
judicious vocal culture. In expression the Falsetto is used to 
express great excitement such as fright, yelling x screaming, 
and shouting. 

Selection illustrating Falsetto. 

Note. The underscored parts of the following selection may very 
appropriately be given in Falsetto Quality. The excitement carries the 
voice above the natural compass. 

HOW WE HUNTED A MOUSE 

Joshua Jenkins 

I was dozing comfortably in my easy-chair, and dreaming of 
the good times which, I hope, are coming, when there fell upon 
my ears a most startling scream. It was the voice of my Maria 



94 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Ann in agony. The voice came from the kitchen, and to the kitchen 
I rushed. The idolized form of my Maria was perched on a chair, 
and she was flourishing an iron spoon in all directions, and shout- 
ing " Shoo," in a general manner at everything in the room. To my 
anxious inquiries as to what was the matter, she screamed, " O ! 
Joshua, a mouse, shoo — wha — shoo — a great — ya, shoo— horrid 
mouse, and — she — ew — it ran right out of the cupboard — shoo — 
go away — O Joshua — shoo — kill it, oh, my — shoo." 

All that fuss, you see, about one little harmless mouse. Some 
women are so afraid of mice. Maria is. I got the poker and set 
myself to poke that mouse, and my wife jumped down and ran off 
into another room. I found the mouse in a corner under the sink. 
The first time I hit it I didn't poke it any on account of getting 
the poker all tangled up in a lot of dishes in the sink ; and I did 
not hit it any more, because the mouse would not stay still. It ran 
right toward me, and I naturally jumped, as anybody would ; but 
I am not afraid of mice, and when the horrid thing ran up inside 
the leg of my pantaloons, I yelled to Maria, because I was afraid 
it would gnaw a hole in my garment. 

There is something real disagreeable about having a mouse 
inside the leg of one's pantaloons, especially if there is nothing 
between you and the mouse. Its toes are cold, and its nails are 
scratchy, and its fur tickles, and its tail feels crawly, and there is 
nothing pleasant about it, and you are all the time afraid it will 
try to gnaw out, and begin on you instead of on the cloth. That 
mouse was next to me. I could feel its every motion with startling 
and suggestive distinctness. For these reasons I yelled to Maria, 
and as the case seemed urgent to me, I may have yelled with a cer- 
tain degree of vigor ; but I deny that I yelled fire, and if I catch the 
boy who thought that I did, I shall inflict punishment on his person. 

I did not lose my presence of mind for an instant. I caught the 
mouse just as it was clambering over my knee, and by pressing 
firmly on the outside of the cloth I kept the animal a prisoner on 
the inside. I kept jumping around with all my might to confuse 
it, so that it would not think about biting, and I yelled so that 
the mice would not hear its squeaks and come to its assistance. 
A man can't handle many mice at once to advantage. 



FALSETTO QUALITY 95 

Maria was white as a sheet when she came into the kitchen, and 
asked what she should do, — as though I could hold the mouse and 
plan a campaign at the same time. I told her to think of some- 
thing, and she thought she would throw things at the intruder; 
but as there was no earthly chance for her to hit the mouse, while 
every shot took effect on me, I told her to stop, after she had tried 
two flatirons and the coal scuttle. She paused for breath ; but I 
kept bobbing around. Somehow I felt no inclination to sit down 
anywhere. " Oh, Joshua," she cried, " I wish you had not killed the 
cat." Now I submit that that wish was born of the weakness of 
woman's intellect. How on earth did she suppose a cat could get 
where that mouse was ? Rather have the mouse there alone, any- 
way, than to have a cat prowling around after it. I reminded 
Maria of the fact that she was a fool. 

Then she got the teakettle and wanted to scald the mouse. 
I objected to that process, except as a last resort. Then she got 
some cheese to coax the mouse down, but I did not dare let go 
for fear it would run up. Matters were getting desperate. I told 
her to think of something else, and I kept jumping. Just as I was 
ready to faint with exhaustion, I tripped over an iron, lost my 
hold, and the mouse fell to the floor very dead. I had no idea a 
mouse could be squeezed to death so easily. 

That was not the end of trouble, for before I had recovered my 
breath a fireman broke in one of the front windows, and a whole 
company followed him through, and they dragged hose around, 
and mussed things all over the house, and then the foreman 
wanted to thrash me because the house was not on fire, and I had 
hardly got him pacified before a policeman came in and arrested 
me. Some one had run down and told him I was drunk and was 
killing Maria. It was all Maria and I could do, by combining our 
eloquence, to prevent him from marching me off in disgrace, but 
we finally got matters quieted and the house clear. 

Now when mice run out of the cupboard, I go outdoors, and let 
Maria " shoo " them back again. I can kill a mouse, but the fun 
don't pay for the trouble. 



96 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

SECTION VI. GUTTURAL QUALITY 

The Guttural is a harsh, grating, impure Quality, the reso- 
nance of which is in the upper part of the throat. It is heard 
in nature in the snarl of a dog, the growl of an angry tigress, 
or the crash of a violent storm. It is the natural expression of 
man when hostile passions produce that tense, rigid condition 
of the body experienced by an angry or infuriated person. 
This rigidity of body which hardens the whole vocal organism 
into a harshness of tone is produced by the intensity of the con- 
trolling emotion ; so we may safely conclude that this Quality 
represents about equally the Emotive and Vital natures of man. 
It is used, then, to express the malignant emotions and passions, 
such as malice, scorn, detestation, anger, revenge, violent hate, and 
uncontrollable rage. In oratorical invective or in certain strong 
dramatic situations the Guttural is indispensable. 

Selection illustrating the Guttural. 

Note. We should hate the false as well as love the " good, the true, 
and the beautiful," and therefore this Quality, so different from the 
ideal Normal in purity and significance, is not to be despised in expres- 
sion. It is one of the extreme Qualities to be used sparingly, and only 
when needed to emphasize the particular word which embodies the 
malignant emotion. Indeed, one word uttered in Guttural Quality is 
often sufficient to portray the anger of the entire sentence. 

In the first paragraph of the following selection we have underscored 
some of the words which should take this Quality ; the student should 
indicate such words throughout the selection, and, with a realization of 
their meaning, give them in Guttural Quality. 

HORRORS OF SAVAGE WARFARE 
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham 

I am astonished, shocked, to hear such principles confessed, to 
hear them avowed in this House, or even in this country ! principles 
equally unconstitutional, inhuman, and unchristian ! 

My lords, I did not intend to trespass again upon your attention, 
but I cannot repress my indignation, — I feel myself impelled by 



GUTTURAL QUALITY 97 

every duty. We are called upon as members of this House, as 
men, as Christian men, to protest against such notions, standing 
near the throne, polluting the ear of Majesty. " That God and 
Nature put into our hands ! " 1 I know not what ideas that Lord 
may entertain of God and Nature ; but I know that such abominable 
principles are equally abhorrent to religion and humanity. 

What ! attribute the sacred sanction of God and Nature to the 
massacres of the Indian scalping knife, to the cannibal savage, 
torturing, murdering, roasting, and eating, — literally, my Lords, 
eating, the mangled victims of his barbarous battles ! Such horrible 
notions shock every precept of religion revealed or natural, and 
every generous feeling of humanity ; and, my Lords, they shock 
every sentiment of honor ; they shock me as a lover of honorable 
war and a detester of murderous barbarity. 

These abominable principles, and this more abominable avowal 
of them, demand the most decisive indignation. I call upon the 
Right Reverend Bench, those holy ministers of the Gospel and 
pious pastors of our Church, — I conjure them to join in the holy 
work, and to vindicate the religion of their God. I appeal to the 
wisdom and the law of this Learned Bench to defend and support 
the justice of their country. I call upon the bishops to interpose 
the unsullied sanctity of their lawn, upon the learned judges to 
interpose the purity of their ermine, to save us from this pollution. 
I call upon the honor of your Lordships to reverence the dignity 
of your ancestors, and to maintain your own. I call upon the 
spirit and humanity of my country to vindicate the national char- 
acter. I invoke the genius of the Constitution. 

From the tapestry that adorns these walls the immortal ancestor 
of this noble Lord frowns with indignation at the disgrace of his 
country / In vain he led your victorious fleets against the boasted 
Armada of Spain ; in vain he defended and established the honor, 
the liberties, the religion, — the Protestant religion of his country, — 
against the arbitrary cruelties of Popery and the Inquisition, if 
these worse than popish and inquisitorial practices are let loose 

1 Lord Suffolk, one of the Secretaries of State, defending the employment of 
Indians in the American war, had declared, in the House of Lords, that " it was 
perfectly justifiable to use all the means that God arid Nature put into our hands?* 



98 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

amongst us, to turn forth into our settlements, among our ancient 
friends and relations, the merciless cannibal, thirsting for the blood 
of man, woman, and child. 

To send forth the infidel savage, — against whom? Against your 
Protestant brethren ! to lay waste their country, to desolate their 
dwellings, and extirpate their race and name with these horrible 
hellhounds of savage war ! — hellhounds, I say, of savage war ! 
Spain armed herself with bloodhounds to extirpate the wretched 
natives of America ; and we improve on the inhuman example of 
even Spanish cruelty : we turn loose these savage hellhounds 
against our brethren and countrymen in America, of the same 
language, laws, liberties, and religion, endeared to us by every tie 
that should sanctify humanity. 

My Lords, this awful subject, so important to our honor, our 
Constitution, and our religion, demands the most solemn and 
effectual inquiry. And I again call upon your Lordships, and the 
united powers of the state, to examine it thoroughly and decisively, 
and to stamp upon it an indelible stigma of the public abhorrence. 
And I again implore those holy prelates of our religion to do away 
these iniquities from among us. Let them perform a lustration ; let 
them purify this House and this country from this sin. 

My Lords, I am old and weak, and at present unable to say 
more ; but my feelings and my indignation were too strong to have 
said less. I could not have slept this night in my bed, or have 
reposed my head on my pillow, without giving this vent to my 
eternal abhorrence of such preposterous and enormous principles. 



SECTION VII. PECTORAL QUALITY 

The Pectoral is a deep, hollow, sepulchral Quality, with the 
resonance in the lower part of the chest. Under the emotion 
appropriate to this Quality the glottis is opened as wide as will 
admit of vocalization, the larynx is lowered, and the reenforcing 
vibrations are confined to the spongy cavities of the lungs, pro- 
ducing a veiled, hollow, half- whispered chest tone. It is heard 
in nature in the deepest groan of sorrow, the apprehensive 



PECTORAL QUALITY 99 

tones of dread or horror, the most solemn utterances of spir- 
itual devotion, the lowest notes of a large pipe organ, and in 
the rumbling sounds of an earthquake or an active volcano. 
It is never used except under the influence of the strongest 
emotions, and belongs distinctly to the Emotive division of 
the triune nature. In expression it is the language of deepest 
solemnity, awe, veneration, dread, amaze7nent, and horror. 

Selection illustrating Pectoral. 

Note. In the scene used to illustrate this element, the student 
should note the words and phrases most expressive of amazement 
and horror, and color them with Pectoral in expression. We have 
underscored a few such in the beginning. 

THE DAGGER SCENE FROM "MACBETH" 

William Shakespeare 

Macbeth. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, 
She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.— \Exit Servant. 
Is this a dagger which I see before me, 

The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me clutch thee : — 
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 
To feeling as to sight ? or art thou but 
A dagger of the mind, a false creation, 
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain ? 
I see thee yet, in form as palpable 
As this which now I draw. 
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going ; 
And such an instrument I was to use. 
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, 
Or else worth all the rest. I see thee still, — 
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, 
Which was not so before. There's no such thing : 
It is the bloody business which informs 
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one half-world 
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 



100 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The curtain'd sleep ; now witchcraft celebrates 

Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder, 

Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf, 

Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, 

With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design 

Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth, 

Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear 

The very stones prate of my whereabout, 

And take the present horror from the time, 

Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives : 

Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. 

[A bell rings. 
I go, and it is done ; the bell invites me. 
Hear it not, Duncan ; for it is a knell 
That summons thee to heaven or to hell. 



SECTION VIII. ASPIRATE QUALITY 

The Aspirate is a hissing, breathy, whispered Quality, the 
resonance of which varies somewhat according to the position 
in which the vocal organs and resonant cavities are held. It is 
heard in the secret whisper of all peoples, the escape of steam, 
and the hissing sound of the volcano in eruption. As a distinct 
Quality it is the unvocalized whisper which may be given in 
different degrees of intensity, in which case the resonance is 
confined to the cavities of the mouth. But the Aspirate, when 
partly vocalized, may combine with and color the tone and 
expression of all the other Qualities, which gives it a wide range 
of resonance and significance. For example, the resonance of 
an aspirated Normal would be in the back part of the mouth, 
that of an aspirated Orotund in the chest, and that of the 
aspirated Guttural in the upper part of the throat. This aspi- 
ration of any given Quality always adds to the emotive signifi- 
cance of that Quality ; it is the intensity of the emotion that 
forces out more breath than can be vocalized, thus producing 



ASPIRATE QUALITY IOI 

aspiration. This Quality, then, plainly belongs to the Emotive 
class. Its use in elocution ranges from the gentlest whisper 
expressing the merest secrecy or caution to the intensest fear, 
terror, or consternation. 

Selection illustrating the Aspirate. 

Note. An appreciation of the secrecy and intense fear portrayed in 
the following selection will enable the student to apply the Aspirate 
Quality in expression throughout the scene. 

THE MURDER SCENE FROM "MACBETH" 
William Shakespeare 

Lady Macbeth. That which hath made them drunk hath made 
me bold ; 
What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark ! Peace ! 
It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, 
Which gives the stern' st good-night. He is about it : 
The doors are open ; and the surfeited grooms 
Do mock their charge with snores : I've drugg'd their possets, 
That death and nature do contend about them, 
Whether they live or die. 

Macbeth. [ Within] Who's there ? what, ho ! 

Lady M. Alack, I am afraid they have awaked, 
And 'tis not done. Th' attempt and not the deed 
Confounds us. Hark ! I laid their daggers ready ; 
He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled 
My father as he slept, I had done 't. My husband ! 

Enter Macbeth 

Macb. I have done the deed ! Didst thou not hear a noise ? 
Lady M. I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. 
Did not you speak ? 
Macb. When? 
Lady M. Now. 
Macb. As I descended? 
Lady M. Ay. 



102 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Macb. Hark! Who lies i' the second chamber? 

Lady M. Donalbain. 

Macb. This is a sorry sight. {Looking on his hands. 

Lady M. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. 

Macb. There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one cried " Murder! " 
That they did wake each other : I stood and heard them : 
But they did say their prayers, and address'd them 
Again to sleep. 

Lady M. There are two lodg'd together. 

Macb. One cried "God bless us !" and "Amen !" the other ; 
As they had seen me, with these hangman's hands. 
Listening their fear, I could not say "Amen," 
When they did say " God bless us ! " 

Lady M. Consider it not so deeply. 

Macb. But wherefore could" not I pronounce "Amen"? 
I had most need of blessing, and "Amen" 
Stuck in my throat. 

Lady M. These deeds must not be thought 

After these ways ; so, it will make us mad. 

Macb. Methought I heard a voice cry " Sleep no more ! 
Macbeth does murder sleep," the innocent sleep, 
Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care, 
The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath, 
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, 
Chief nourisher in life's feast, — 

Lady M. What do you mean ? 

Macb. Still it cried "Sleep no more!" to all the house: 
" Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor 
Shall sleep no more ; Macbeth shall sleep no more !" 

Lady M. Who was it that thus cried ? Why, worthy thane, 
You do unbend your noble strength, to think 
So brainsickly of things. Go get some water, 
And wash this filthy witness from your hand. 
Why did you bring these daggers from the place ? 
They must lie there : go carry them, and smear 
The sleepy grooms with blood. 

Macb, I'll go no more : 



ASPIRATE QUALITY 103 

I am afraid to think what I have done ; 
Look on 't again I dare not. 

Lady M. Infirm of purpose ! 

Give me the daggers : the sleeping and the dead 
Are but as pictures : 'tis the eye of childhood 
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, 
I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal ; 
For it must seem their guilt. \_Exit. Knocking within. 

Macb. Whence is that knocking ? 

How is't with me, when every noise appals me ? 
What hands are here ? ha ! they pluck out mine eyes. 
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 
Clean from my hand ? No, this my hand will rather * 
The multitudinous seas incarnadine, 
Making the green one red. 

Re-enter Lady Macbeth 

Lady M. My hands are of your colour ; but I shame 
To wear a heart so white. {Knocking withi?i.'\ I hear a knocking 
At the south entry: retire we to our chamber: 
A little water clears us of this deed : 
How easy is it, then ! Your constancy 
Hath left you unattended. [Knocking within^ Hark ! more 

knocking : 
Get on your night-gown, lest occasion call us, 
And show us to be watchers. Be not lost 
So poorly in your thoughts. 

Macb. To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself. [Knock. 
Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst ! 

[Exeunt. 

SECTION IX. SUMMARY AND VOCAL CULTURE 

While the student of vocal culture must make each Quality 
separate and distinct as a discipline of the voice he must 
remember that there are blends and shadings of quality in 
expression to meet the demands of ' varying thoughts and 



104 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

emotions. For example, the Oral may shade into the Normal, 
the Normal into the Orotund, the Orotund into the Pectoral, 
and the Pectoral into the Aspirate, according to one's concep- 
tion of the lines to be interpreted. In like manner the artist 
combines his colors at will to represent on canvas his ideals 
of light, shadow, tint, or color ; and the musician, though defi- 
nite and exacting in his technical drill, blends his tones into 
harmonies to express the emotions and passions of his soul. 

i. Exercises, 

(i) Practice a, e, I, o, u, in alternating notes of speech in 
the several Qualities. 

(2) Give the words all, arm, our, roar, roll, in alternating 
notes in all the Qualities. 

(3) Give the same sounds and words in notes of song in 
Normal and Orotund Qualities for purity and strength of tone. 

2. Selection illustrating Quality. 

Note. This extract from Quo Vadis contains a great variety of emo- 
tion. The student should analyze it, note the shades of feeling portrayed, 
and express them in their appropriate qualities. All but the Oral, the 
Nasal, and the Falsetto will be needed in its interpretation. 

THE ARENA SCENE FROM "QUO VADIS" 

Henryk Sienkiewicz 

At last the evening arrived. The sight was in truth magnificent. 
All that was powerful, brilliant, and wealthy in Rome was there. 
The lower seats were crowded with togas as white as snow. In a 
gilded podium sat Nero, wearing a diamond collar and a golden 
crown upon his head. Every eye was turned with strained gaze to 
the place where the unfortunate lover was sitting. He was exceed- 
ingly pale, and his forehead was covered with drops of sweat. To 
his tortured mind came the thought that faith of itself would spare 
Lygia. Peter had said that faith would move the earth to its 
foundations. He crushed doubt in himself, compressed his whole 
being into the sentence, " I believe," and he looked for a miracle. 



SUMMARY AND VOCAL CULTURE 105 

The prefect of the city waved a red handkerchief, and out of 
the dark gully into the brightly lighted arena came Ursus. In 
Rome there was no lack of gladiators, larger by far than the com- 
mon measure of man ; but Roman eyes had never seen the like of 
Ursus. The people gazed with the delight of experts at his mighty 
limbs, as large as tree trunks ; at his breast, as large as two shields 
joined together, and his arms of a Hercules. He was unarmed, 
and had determined to die as became a follower of the Lamb, 
peacefully and patiently. Meanwhile he wished to pray once more 
to the Saviour. So he knelt on the arena, joined his hands, and 
raised his eyes towards the stars. This act displeased the crowd. 
They had had enough of those Christians, who died like sheep. 
They understood that if the giant would not defend himself, the 
spectacle would be a failure. Here and there hisses were heard. 
Some began to cry for scourgers, whose office it was to lash com- 
batants unwilling to fight. But soon all had grown silent, for no 
one knew what was waiting for the giant, nor whether he would 
not defend himself when he met death eye to eye. 

In fact, they had not long to wait. Suddenly the shrill sound 
of brazen trumpets was heard, and at that signal into the arena 
rushed, amid the shouts of the beast keepers, an enormous German 
aurochs, bearing on his head the naked body of a woman. 

Vinicius sprang to his feet. 

" Lygia ! Oh, ... I believe ! I believe ! Oh, Christ, a miracle ! 
a miracle ! " And he did not even know that Petronius had covered 
his head at that moment with a toga. He did not look ; he did not 
see. The feeling of some awful emptiness possessed him. In his 
head there remained not a thought. His lips merely repeated as 
if in madness, " I believe ! I believe ! I believe ! " 

This time the amphitheater was silent, for in the arena some- 
thing uncommon had happened. That giant, obedient and ready 
to die, when he saw his queen on the horns of the wild beast, 
sprang up, as if touched by living fire, and, bending forward, he 
ran at the raging animal. 

From all breasts a sudden cry of amazement was heard, as the 
giant fell on the raging bull and seized him by the horns. And 
then came deep silence. All breasts ceased to breathe. In the 



106 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

amphitheater a fly might be heard on the wing. People could not 
believe their own eyes. Since Rome was Rome no one had ever 
seen such a spectacle. The man's feet sank in the sand to his 
ankle ; his back was bent like a bow ; his head was hidden between 
his shoulders ; on his arms the muscles came out so that the skin 
almost burst from their pressure ; but he had stopped the bull in 
his tracks. The man and the bull remained so still that the spec- 
tators thought themselves looking at a group hewn in stone. But 
in that apparent repose there was a tremendous exertion of two 
struggling forces. The bull's feet, as well as the man's, sank in 
the sand, and the dark, shaggy body was curved so that it seemed 
a gigantic ball. Which of the two would fail first ? Which would 
fall first ? 

Meanwhile a dull roar resembling a groan was heard from the 
arena, after which a brief shout was wrested from every breast, 
and again there was silence. Duller and duller, hoarser and hoarser, 
more and more painful grew the groan of the bull as it mingled 
with the whistling breath from the breast of the giant. The head 
of the beast began to turn in the iron hands of the barbarian, and 
from his jaws crept forth a long, foaming tongue. A moment more 
and to the ears of the spectators sitting nearer came, as it were, 
the crack of breaking bones ; then the beast rolled on the earth, 
dead. 

The giant removed in a twinkling the ropes that bound the 
maiden to the horns of the bull. His face was very pale ; he stood 
as if only half-conscious ; then he raised his eyes and looked at 
the spectators. 

The amphitheater had gone wild. The walls of the building 
were trembling from the roar of tens of thousands of people. 

Everywhere were heard cries for mercy, passionate and persist- 
ent, which soon turned into one unbroken thunder. 

The giant understood that they were asking for his life and lib- 
erty, but his thoughts were not for himself. He raised the uncon- 
scious maiden in his arms, and, going to Nero's podium, held her 
up and looked up imploringly. 

Vinicius sprang over the barrier, which separated the lower seats 
from the arena, and, running to Lygia, covered her with his toga. 



FORCE 107 

Then he tore apart the tunic on his breast, laid bare the scars 
left by wounds received in the Armenian war, and stretched out 
his hands to the multitude. 

At this the enthusiasm passed everything ever seen in a circus 
before. Voices choking with tears began to demand mercy. Yet 
Nero halted and hesitated. He would have preferred to see the 
giant and the maiden rent by the horns of the bull. 

Nero was alarmed. He understood that to oppose longer was 
simply dangerous. A disturbance begun in the circus might seize 
the whole city. He looked once more, and, seeing everywhere 
frowning brows, excited faces and eyes fixed on him, he slowly 
raised his hand and gave the sign for mercy. 

Then a thunder of applause broke from the highest seats to the 
lowest. But Vinicius heard it not. He dropped on his knees in the 
arena, stretched his hands toward heaven and cried : " I believe ! 
Oh, Christ ! I believe ! I believe ! " 



CHAPTER VII 

FORCE 

Force is the power or energy of utterance. It relates to the 
manner, the amount, and the location of energy with which 
sounds are sent forth from the vocal organs. It must not be 
confused with loudness. Figuratively speaking Force is the 
exploding powder behind the ball, while loudness is the momen- 
tum or carrying power of the projectile. For example, we may 
give strong Force with Aspirate Quality and not be heard very 
far, while a moderate degree of Force with a pure Normal 
Quality would fill a large auditorium. Loudness is force plus 
vibration. Force has three specific divisions, — (1) Form, 
(2) Degree, and (3) Stress, — which correspond respectively 
to the Emotive, Vital, and Mental natures, thus : 

j' Form Emotive^ 

Force 4 Degree .... Vital |> Man 
[Stress Mental J 



108 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

SECTION I. FORM 

Form is the manner of exerting Force, and relates to the 
smoothness or abruptness with which a sound, word, or syllable 
is begun and ended. The manner reveals the motive, hence 
Form represents the Emotive nature. There are three Forms 
in nature, — (i) the Effusive, (2) the Expulsive, and (3) the 
Explosive, — which correspond to man's triune nature, thus : 

f Effusive .... Emotive "1 

Form <j Expulsive . . . Mental )* Man 

[Explosive . . . Vital j 

i. Effusive Form. 

The Effusive is that Form of voice in which the Force is 
applied smoothly and evenly, so that the sound flows forth from 
the vocal organs without abruptness either in the opening or the 
closing. It is heard in nature in the moaning of the wind, the 
roar of the cataract, the plaintive notes of the dove, the mourn- 
ful howl of a dog, the moan of a child, the sigh of pathos, or 
the groan of sorrow. It represents the Emotive nature of man, 
and is used to express his more serious or solemn states of mind, 
such as pathos, sorrow, reverence, suppressed fear, awe, etc. 

The Effusive may be given in notes of song on a level line 
of pitch, or inflected in notes of speech which slide up and 
down the scale, as shown by the accompanying cuts. To acquire 
it the student should practice on the continuant sounds and 
indefinite syllables in notes of song and notes of speech. 



Effusive Form, Notes of Song " =c=:> ^ -= — — — — — 

Effusive Form, Notes of Speech // \\ 

Illustrative Selection. 

Note. The Effusive Form and Long Quantity are closely associated. 
The student will do well to underscore the words embodying the senti- 
ment of the selection, and give Effusive Form in Long Quantity on the 



FORM 109 

indefinite and mutable syllables composing those words, remembering 
always that the other words should be given in the ordinary Expulsive 
Form. 

MY SHIPS 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox 

If all the ships I have at sea — 
Should come a-sailing home to me, 
Ah well ! the harbor could not hold 
So many ships as there would be, 
If all my ships came home to me. 

If half my ships now T out at sea 
Should come a-sailing home to me, 
Ah well ! I should have wealth as great 
As any king that sits in state, 
So rich the treasure there would be 
In half my ships now out at sea. 

If but one ship I have at sea 

Should come a-sailing home to me, 

Ah well ! the storm clouds then might frown, 

For if the others all went down, 

Still rich and glad and proud I'd be, 

If that one ship came home to me. 

If that one ship went down at sea, 

And all the others came to me, 

Weighed down with gems and wealth untold, 

Of riches, glory, honor, gold, 

The poorest soul on earth I'd be, 

If that one ship came not to me. 

Oh, skies, be calm ! oh, winds, blow free ! 
Blow all my ships safe home to me ! 
But if thou sendest some awrack, 
To never more come sailing back, 
Send any — all that skim the sea, 
But send my love ship back to me. 



IIO ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

2. Expulsive Form. 

The Expulsive is that Form in which the Force is applied 
abruptly, so that the sound rushes forth from the vocal organs 
as in ordinary speech. It is heard in nature in the babbling 
brook, the chatter of birds, the prattle of children, and in the 
common conversation of all peoples in all languages. It re- 
presents the Mental nature of man, and is used to express 
his ordinary thoughts, as in conversation, narration, didactic 
thought, gladness and patriotism. To acquire a good Expulsive 
Form the student should practice the vowel sounds in notes 
of song and notes of speech, as indicated by the following 
figures, and read aloud with clear and distinct articulation the 
following illustrative selection. 

Expulsive Form, Notes of Song O- ( ' ■ — 

Expulsive Form, Notes of Speech ^^ ^-^ 

Illustrative Selection. 

Note. The Expulsive corresponds to the Medium Quantity which 
should be given on all words not demanding a prolongation even though 
they are composed of continuant sounds. In other words, a syllable 
should not be unduly prolonged when no special significance is implied. 
It is very important to be able to read in a natural, colloquial manner. 
The following selection read aloud in such a manner will prove a good 
exercise for Expulsive Form. 

CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON 1 

Daniel Webster 

America has furnished to the world the character of Washing- 
ton ! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that 
alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind. Wash- 
ington ! " First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his 
countrymen ! " Washington is all our own ! The enthusiastic 
veneration and regard in which the people of the United States 

1 From the Second Bunker Hill Oration, delivered June 17, 1843. 



FORM III 

hold him, prove them to be worthy of such a countryman ; while 
his reputation abroad reflects the highest honor on his country. I 
would cheerfully put the question to-day to the intelligence of 
Europe and the world, What character of the century, upon the 
whole, stands out in the relief of history, most pure, most respect- 
able, most sublime ; and I doubt not, that, by a suffrage approach- 
ing to unanimity, the answer would be, Washington ! 

The structure now standing before us, by its uprightness, its 
solidity, its durability, is no unfit emblem of his character. His 
public virtues and public principles were as firm as the earth on 
which it stands ; his personal motives, as pure as the serene heaven 
in which its summit is lost. But, indeed, though a fit, it is an inad- 
equate emblem. Towering high above the column which our 
hands have builded, beheld not by the inhabitants of a single city 
or a single state, but by all the families of man, ascends the 
colossal grandeur of the character and life of Washington. In all 
the constituents of the one, in all the acts of the other, in all its 
titles to immortal love, admiration, and renown, it is an American 
production. It is the embodiment and vindication of our trans- 
atlantic liberty. Born upon our soil, of parents also born upon it ; 
never for a moment having had sight of the Old World ; instructed, 
according to the modes of his time, only in the spare, plain, but 
wholesome elementary knowledge which our institutions provide 
for the children of the people ; growing up beneath and penetrated 
by the genuine influences of American society ; living from infancy 
to manhood and age amidst our expanding but not luxurious 
civilization ; partaking in our great destiny of labor, our long con- 
test with unreclaimed nature and uncivilized man, our agony of 
glory, the war of Independence, our great victory of peace, the 
formation of the Union, and the establishment of the Constitution, 
— he is all, all our own S Washington is ours. 

I claim him for America. In all the perils, in every darkened 
moment of the state, in the midst of the reproaches of enemies 
and the misgivings of friends, I turn to that transcendent name 
for courage and for consolation. To him who denies or doubts 
whether our fervid liberty can be combined with law, with order, 
with the security of property, with the pursuits and advancement 



112 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

of happiness ; to him who denies that our forms of government are 
capable of producing exaltation of soul and the passion of true 
glory ; to him who denies that we have contributed anything to 
the stock of great lessons and great examples ; — to all these I 
reply by pointing to Washington ! 

3. Explosive Form. 

The Explosive is that Form in which the Force is applied 
instantaneously, causing the sound to burst forth in a very abrupt 
and intense manner. It is heard in the crack of a whip, the 
stroke of a hammer, the report of a gun, a clap of thunder, 
a shout of triumph, and in the ringing laughter of children. 
Explosion implies the action of strong force ; hence this Form 
represents man's Vital nature. It is used to express those in- 
tense emotions in which physical vitality is aroused, such as 
great earnestness, joy, defiance, alarm, terror, violent hate, or 
rage. To acquire a strong Explosive Form the student should 
practice on syllables which open with tonic sounds, as all, 
our, isle, out, and on immutable syllables, which begin with the 
subtonics b, d, and g, and the atonies p, t, and k, in notes of 
song and notes of speech, as indicated in the following illus- 
trative figures : 

Explosive Form, Note of Song O C T ■ 

Explosive Form, Note of Speech jy ^\ 

Illustrative Selection. 

Note. The Explosive Form corresponds to Short Quantity, though 
it may be appropriately given with longer Quantity, as in the case of an 
excited call, a cry of joy, or a shout of triumph. The student should 
remember that, even in sentiments requiring this Form, very few words 
are to be given in the Explosive. In the following selection such words 
as " Youngmen, ahoy ! " " Beware ! " given in Explosive Form would 
be quite sufficient to convey the intense sentiment of the piece. In all 
cases the Form should change to express the changing sentiments of 
the selection. 



FORM 113 

THE POWER OF HABIT 
John B. Gough 

I remember once riding from Buffalo to the Niagara Falls. I 
said to a gentleman, " What river is that, sir ? " 

" That," he said, "is Niagara River." 

"Well, it is a beautiful stream," said I ; "bright and fair and 
glassy. How far off are the rapids ? " 

" Only a mile or two," was the reply. 

" Is it possible that only a mile from us we shall find the water 
in the turbulence which it must show near the falls ? " 

" You will find it so, sir." And so I did find it ; and the first 
sight of Niagara I shall never forget. 

Now launch your bark on that Niagara River ; it is bright, 
smooth, beautiful, and glassy. There is a ripple at the bow ; the 
silver wake you leave behind adds to your enjoyment. Down the 
stream you glide, oars, sails, and helm in proper trim, and you set 
out on your pleasure excursion. 

Suddenly some one cries out from the bank, "Voting men, 
ahoy / " 

"What is it?" 

"The rapids are below you." 

" Ha ! ha ! we have heard of the rapids ; but we are not such 
fools as to get there. If we go too fast, then we shall up with the 
helm, and steer to the shore ; we will set the mast in the socket, 
hoist the sail, and speed to the land. Then on, boys ; don't be 
alarmed, there is no danger." 

"Young men, ahoy there!" 

"What is it?" 

"The rapids are below you." 

" Ha ! ha ! we will laugh and quaff ; all things delight us. What 
care we for the future ! No man ever saw it. Sufficient for the day 
is the evil thereof. We will enjoy life while we may ; we will catch 
pleasure as it flies. This is enjoyment ; time enough to steer out 
of danger when we are sailing swiftly with the current." 

" Young men, ahoy ! " 

"What is it?" 



ii4 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



" Beware ! beware ! the rapids are below you ! '-• 
Now you see the water foaming all around. See how fast you 
pass that point ! Up with the helm ! Now turn ! Pull hard ! Quick ! 
quick ! quick ! pull hard for your lives / pull till the blood starts 
from your nostrils, and the veins start like whipcords upon your 
brow ! Set the mast in the socket ! hoist the sail ! ah ! ah ! it is 
too late ! Shrieking, howling, blaspheming, over they go. 

Thousands go over the rapids of intemperance every year 
through the power of habit, crying all the while, "When I find 
out that it is injuring me, I will give it up ! " 

4. Combinations of Form and Quality. 

We have now had two vocal elements and can begin to 
make combinations showing the more delicate shadings of 
thought and emotion as each Quality is modified by the Form 
in which it is given. For the special guidance of the student 
and the teacher, and without entering into a discussion of the 
philosophy embodied, we subjoin a complete table of the com- 
binations of Form and Quality showing the appropriate class 
of sentiments for each combination. Because of its importance 
in the work of analysis, preparatory to expressive reading and 
speaking, we term this the " Multiplication Table" of Elocution. 
It should be thoroughly committed to memory for ready use 
in the analysis of any selection, and faithfully applied in the 
vocal interpretation of it. 



"MULTIPLICATION TABLE" OF ELOCUTION 
C Effusive Form = Solemnity, tranquillity, pathos. 



Normal . _ . . 
^ < Expulsive 

Quality I F . . 

(. Explosive 

( Effusive 
Orotund _ 
^ ,. < Expulsive 
Quality J F . . 

L Explosive 

Oral f Effusive 

Quality (^Expulsive 



= Narration, didactic thought, gladness. 
= Joy, laughter, great earnestness. 

= Reverence, sublimity, devotion. 
= Grandeur, patriotism, lofty oratory. 
= Courage, defiance, alarm. 

= Sickness, feebleness, idiocy. 
= Timidity, languor, fatigue. 



FORM 115 

f Effusive " = Droll pathos, indifference, laziness. 
i Expulsive " = Irony, mimicry, buffoonery. 
V [ Explosive " == A sharp taunt or snarl of contempt. 

_ ( Effusive " = Senility, whining, whimpering. 

Falsetto _, . . _ ; ?' ,. * , . f 

< Expulsive " = Ecstatic delight, unrestrained weeping. 
Quality ] _ F . . . . ° ' . . . F 5 

x * L Explosive " = A scream of joy, fright, or pain. 

Guttural f Expulsive " = Impatience, scorn, hate, revenge. 
Quality ^Explosive " = Violent hate, anger, or rage. 

Pectoral ( Effusive " = Deepest solemnity, awe, veneration. 
Quality ^ Expulsive " = Dread, amazement, horror. 

f Effusive " = Stillness, secrecy, suppressed fear. 
^ Expulsive " = Sudden fear, stealthiness, secret command. 
[Explosive " = Intense fear, terror, consternation. 

5. Vocal Exercises, 

(1) For Effusive Form. Give the continuant tonics, a in 
ale, a in arm, a in all, e in eve, and in old with notes of song 
in all the Qualities admitting of Effusive Form. Repeat with 
notes of speech in alternate rising and falling inflections. 

(2) For Expulsive. Give all the above-named continuant 
tonics with notes of song in all the Qualities. Give the same and 
their illustrative words with notes of speech in all the Qualities. 

(3) For Explosive. Give the same sounds and the words 
all, pull, toll, bell, do?tg, with notes of song in Normal and 
Orotund Qualities. Give the same with notes of speech. 

Note. It will be observed that the drills in vocal culture are made 
up of the elements of expression. It is suggested that the student keep 
in mind the meaning of these combinations of Forms and Qualities even 
while he is practicing the exercises, and thus familiarize himself with the 
"sound and sense" while tuning the vocal organs for the art of expres- 
sion. To this end he will find the above table of combinations helpful. 

Illustrative selection for all Forms. 

Note. The illustration here used should be analyzed by the student 
under the direction of the teacher, and the various thoughts and emo- 
tions expressed orally in their appropriate Forms. 



Il6 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

A HERO OF THE FURNACE ROOM 
Anonymous 

The duty of the boiler-makers on warships is of the most danger- 
ous nature. In action, between actions, and out of action the 
repairs that they are called upon at a moment's notice to effect are 
sufficient to send a chill of fear through the hearts of most men. 
They will creep right inside a boiler or furnace which had but a 
few moments before been full of boiling liquid or red-hot coals. 
They will screw up nuts and fasten bolts or repair leaking pipes 
or joints in places that other men would consider impossible to 
approach. While the ship's big guns are making the vessel trem- 
ble, and the enemy's shells are bursting in every direction, these 
men, with positively reckless fearlessness, will venture down into 
the bowels of the fighting ship, amid roaring machinery, hissing 
steam, and flaming fires, to rectify an accident which, unrepaired, 
might send the ship and all her human freight to the bottom more 
surely and more quickly than shell or shot from the best guns of 
the enemy. These men are heroes. 

The Castine, when she went to work to batter the walls of San 
Juan, carried on board three of these boiler-makers, Fish, another, 
and one Huntley, of Norfolk, Virginia. The Castine went into 
action under full steam, her triple screws revolving at the fullest 
speed, and her battery of eight guns started her quivering with 
excitement and the fierce delight of battle. The furnaces were 
heated almost to white heat, and the forced draught was urging 
the flames to greater heat, the boiling water to the higher produc- 
tion of steam, the engines to increasing revolutions. Suddenly, 
without expectation, without warning, far down in the furnace hole, 
unheard by officer or man, amid the din of battle, the thundering 
reverberations of exploding gunpowder, there arose a fierce hiss- 
ing noise right inside one of the furnaces ; and those who heard it 
trembled as no guns or shot or shell had power to make them 
tremble. 

A socket bolt in the back connection at the very farthest inte- 
rior extremity of the furnace had become loose. A leak had been 
sprung ; the steam was pouring upon the fire, threatening in a few 



FORM 117 

moments to put it out and stop the progress of the ship if it did 
not have the more awful effect of causing a terrible explosion and 
annihilation ! 

The faces of the men below, in that moment of terrible suspense, 
blanched beneath the grime that covered them. None knew what 
to do save wait the awful coming of the shock they knew must come. 

None ? Nay, but there was one ! The first to pull himself 
together, the first to whom returned the fear-driven senses, was 
Boiler-maker Huntley. His name does not appear on the navy list. 
Even his first name was unknown to his confrere, Fish. Only 
Boiler-maker Huntley, of Norfolk, Virginia ; but that is enough, 
and his deed should be sufficient to find for him a niche in the 
annals of fame whenever and wherever the story of the United 
States and her navy is told. 

One instant of startled horror — then, without hesitation, with- 
out trepidation, with stern-set jaws and fierce, devoted determina- 
tion on every line of face and form — 

11 Turn off the force draught !" he cried. 

" Goodness, Huntley, what are you going to do ? " 

" Bank the fire ! Quick ! " 

"It's certain death ! " 

11 For one — unless, for all ! Turn off the draught ! Bank the 
fire ! " The orders were carried out feverishly. 

" Now 7 a plank ! " 

And before they could stop him this hero had flung the plank 
into the furnace, right on top of the black coal with which it was 
banked, and had himself climbed and crawled over the ragged 
mass, far back to where the steam was rushing like some hissing 
devil from the loosened socket. 

For three minutes he remained inside that fearful place, and 
then the work was done — the ship was saved — and his friends 
drew him out at the door. The force draught went to its work 
again, and in an instant the furnace was once more raging. 

But what of Huntley? Scorched, scalded, insensible, well-nigh 
dead, he lay upon the iron floor of the furnace room, while around 
him stood his mates dousing him with water, and using every 
known means for his resuscitation. He did not die, but when once 



II* 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



more he opened his eyes, and was able to be carefully lifted "into 
daylight, there arose such cheers from the throats of those dirty, 
grimy mates as never greeted taking of city or sinking of fleet. 

The story is briefly chronicled in the log of the Castine, and 
Huntley simply claims that he " did his duty." But while the 
United States remains a nation, so long as the banner bearing the 
silver stars on the field of blue, above alternate stripes of red and 
white, remains the symbol of purity, bravery, and patriotism to 
American hearts the whole world over ; so long, when her heroes 
are spoken of, one name should never be omitted, — that of Boiler- 
maker Huntley, of Norfolk, Virginia. 



SECTION II. DEGREE 

Degree of Force in Elocution is the amount of power with 
which sounds are sent forth from the vocal organs, and there- 
fore represents the vital nature of man. Though this is a very 
simple element, a mastery of it is essential, since the entire 
audience, large or small, must at least hear the speaker in order 
to understand or appreciate his speech. 

i . Scale of Force. 

There are three divisions of Degree, — (i) Subdued, ^Mod- 
erate, and (3) Energetic, which may be further divided, each 
into three degrees as represented in the following diagram : 



Subdued 



Moderate 



Energetic 



>;0 0:0;0|00 

Effusive Eorm 



Expulsive 



Form 



-I 



Explosive Form 



The first degree of Subdued Force may be the faintest utter- 
ance audible to an audience, while the last degree of Energetic 



DEGREE 119 

Force may represent the most impassioned emotion of the 
speaker. This, like all scales in Elocution, is not absolute but 
relative, and is dependent upon (1) the individuality of the 
speaker, (2) the acoustic properties of the auditorium, and (3) 
the thought or emotion to be expressed. 

(1) Each individual has a natural or acquired range of vocal 
strength which is measured by his own scale of Degrees of 
Force. A weak-voiced person should not strain to the scale 
of a more vital speaker ; nor should the strong- voiced speaker 
fall into the habit of reducing his Force to a weak, timid 
utterance. 

(2) Acoustic conditions are dependent first, upon the size 
and shape of the auditorium, and second, on whether or not it is 
filled with an audience. The speaker must at the start observe 
the size of his auditorium and adjust his scale accordingly. He 
must overcome echo, due to the shape of the room and to its 
furnishings, by a proper scale of Degrees, remembering always 
to adapt his scale to the audience, large or small. 

(3) The scale thus established, the speaker must remember 
that the different Degrees of Force express differing intensities 
of thought and feeling. These may be determined by observing 
the analogy between the three Forms of Voice and the three 
Degrees of Force as indicated by the above diagram. To illus- 
trate : the gentler emotions, such as timidity, tranquillity, pa- 
thos, reverence, or veneration, are given in Subdued or Moderate 
Degrees; those states of mind expressed in ordinary conversa- 
tion, didactic thought, gladness, patriotism, amazement, scorn, 
or hate, range through the last of Subdued, the Moderate, and 
a part of Energetic ; while the more intense passions, such as 
ecstatic joy, defiance, alarm, terror, or rage, require the strongest 
Degree of Moderate and the Energetic Degrees of Force. By 
further associating Quality, Form, and Degree of Force, the 
student may easily determine the proper expression of all the 
sentiments he may wish to interpret. 



120 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

2. Illustrative Selections. 
(i) For Subdued Degree. 

Note. While Subdued Force is in general appropriate to these selec- 
tions, the student should take into account the range of Subdued and 
Moderate explained above, and change those Degrees to suit the senti- 
ments. Nothing would be more monotonous than to use one Degree of 
Force through an entire selection. 

CROSSING THE BAR 
Alfred Lord Tennyson 

Sunset and evening star, 

And one clear call for me ! 
And may there be no moaning of the bar, 

When I put out to sea. 

But such a tide as moving seems asleep, 

Too full for sound and foam, 
When that which drew from out the boundless deep 

Turns again home. 

Twilight and evening bell, 

And after that the dark ! 
And may there be no sadness of farewell, 

When I embark ; 

For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place 

The flood may bear me far, 
I hope to see my Pilot face to face 

When I have crost the bar. 

THE GRIEF OF OPHELIA 

W t illiam Shakespeare 

O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown ! 

Th' expectancy and rose of the fair State, 

The glass of fashion and the mould of form, 

Th' observed of all observers, — quite, quite down ! 

And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, 



DEGREE 121 

That sucked the honey of his music vows, 
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, 
Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh ; 

O, woe is me, 
T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see ! 

(2) For Moderate Degree, 

Note. Observe the range as well as the limitation of Moderate 
Force, and vary its degrees to suit the demands of the following selec- 
tion. The figure (p. 118) shows that all three of the Forms may be 
found in the Moderate Degree of Force. 

DEDICATION OF GETTYSBURG CEMETERY 
Abraham Lincoln 

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon 
this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated 
to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are 
engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any 
nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. 

We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have met 
to dedicate a portion of it as the final resting-place of those who 
here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether 
fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense 
we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this 
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have 
consecrated it far beyond our power to add or detract. The world 
will little note, nor long remember, what we say here ; but it can 
never forget what they did here. 

It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated to the unfinished 
work that they have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for 
us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us ; 
that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that 
cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion ; 
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in 
vain ; that this nation shall, under God, have a new birth of free- 
dom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for 
the people, shall not perish from the earth, 



122 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(3) For Energetic Degree. 

Note. But a few words given in the strongest Degree of Energetic 
Force will be quite sufficient for expressive purposes. The extreme 
degrees of any element are used less frequently than the moderate 
ranges. 

THE GARDEN SCENE FROM "MARY STUART" 
Schiller : Translated by Joseph Mellish 

Mary of Scotland pleads with Elizabeth, Queen of England, to spare 
her life ; failing in her plea she gives vent to fiercest wrath. 

Elizabeth. How, my Lords ! 

Which of you then announced to me a prisoner 
Bow 'd down by woe ? I see a haughty one, 
By no means humbled by calamity. 

Mary. Well, be it so : to this will I submit. — 
Farewell high thought, and pride of noble mind ! 
I will forget my dignity, and all 
My sufferings ; I will fall before her feet, 
Who hath reduced me to this wretchedness. — 
The voice of Heaven decides for you, my sister. 
Your happy brows are now with triumph crown'd ; 
I bless the Power Divine which thus hath raised you: 
\Kneeling~\ But in your turn be merciful, my sister ; 
Let me not lie before you thus disgraced : 
Stretch forth your hand, your royal hand, to raise 
Your sister from the depths of her distress. 

Eliza. You are where it becomes you, Lady Stuart ; 
And thankfully I prize my God's protection, 
Who hath not suffered me to kneel a suppliant 
Thus at your feet, as you now kneel at mine. 

Mary. Think on all earthly things, vicissitudes. 
O ! there are gods who punish haughty pride : 
Respect them, honour them, the dreadful ones 
Who thus before thy feet have humbled me ! 
Before these strangers' eyes, dishonour not 
Yourself in me : profane not, nor disgrace 



DEGREE 123 

The royal blood of Tudor. In my veins 
It flows as pure a stream as in your own. 

! for God's pity, stand not so estranged 
And inaccessible, like some tall cliff, 
Which the poor shipwreck'd mariner in vain 
Struggles to seize, and labours to embrace. 

Eliza. What would you say to me, my Lady Stuart ? 
You wish'd to speak with me ; and I, forgetting 
The Queen, and all the wrongs I have sustain'd, 
Fulfil the pious duty of the sister, 
And grant the boon you wish'd for of my presence. 
Yet I, in yielding to the generous feelings 
Of magnanimity, expose myself 
To rightful censure, that I stoop so low : 
For well you know, you would have had me murder'd. 

Mary. O ! how shall I begin ? O, how shall I 
So artfully arrange my cautious words, 
That they may touch, yet not offend your heart ? 

1 am a Queen, like you, yet you have held me 
Confined in prison. As a suppliant 

I came to you, yet you in me insulted 

The pious use of hospitality ; 

Slighting in me the holy law of nations, 

Immured me in a dungeon, tore from me 

My friends and servants ; to unseemly want 

I was exposed, and hurried to the bar 

Of a disgraceful, insolent tribunal. 

No more of this : in everlasting silence 

Be buried all the cruelties I suffer'd ! 

See, I will throw the blame of all on fate ; 

'Twas not your fault, no more than it was mine : 

An evil spirit rose from the abyss, 

To kindle in our hearts the flames of hate, 

By which our tender youth had been divided : 

It grew with us, and bad, designing men 

Fann'd with their ready breath the fatal fire. 

Now stand we face to face : now, sister, speak ; 



124 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Name but my crime, I'll fully satisfy you: 
Alas ! had you vouchsafed to hear me then, 
When I so earnest sought to meet your eye, 
It never would have come to this, nor would, 
Here in this mournful place, have happen'd now 
This so distressful, this so mournful meeting. 

Eliza. My better stars preserved me. I was warn'd, 
And laid not to my breast the poisonous adder ! 
Accuse not fate ! your own deceitful heart 
It was, the wild ambition of your House. 
But God is with me, and the haughty foe 
Has not maintain'd the field. The blow was aim'd 
Full at my head, but yours it is which falls ! 

Mary. I'm in the hand of Heaven. You never will 
Exert so cruelly the power it gives you. 

Eliza. Who shall prevent me ? Say, did not your uncle 
Set all the Kings of Europe the example, 
How to conclude a peace with those they hate ? 
Force is my only surety ; no alliance 
Can be concluded with a race of vipers. 

Mary. O, this is but your wretched, dark suspicion ! 
For you have constantly regarded me 
But as a stranger, and an enemy. 
Had you declared me heir to your dominions, 
As is my right, then gratitude and love 
In me had fix'd, for you, a faithful friend 
And kinswoman. 

Eliza. Your friendship is abroad. 

Name you my successor ! The treacherous snare ! 
That in my life you might seduce my people ; 
And, like a sly Armida, in your net 
Entangle all our noble English youth; 
That all might turn to the new rising Sun, 
And I — 

Mary. O sister, rule your realm in peace : 
I give up every claim to these domains : 
Alas ! the pinions of my soul are lamed ; 



DEGREE 125 

Greatness entices me no more : your point 

Is gain'd ; I am but Mary's shadow now ; 

My noble spirit is at last broke down 

By long captivity : you've done your worst 

On me ; you have destroy'd me in my bloom ! 

Now end your work, my sister ; speak at length 

The word, which to pronounce has brought you hither ; 

For I will ne'er believe that you are come 

To mock unfeelingly your hapless victim. 

Pronounce this word ; say, " Mary, you are free : 

You have already felt my power ; learn now 

To honour too my generosity." 

Say this, and I will take my life, will take 

My freedom, as a present from your hands. 

One word makes all undone ; I wait for it : 

O, let it not be needlessly delay'd : 

Woe to you, if you end not with this word ! 

For, should you not, like some divinity 

Dispensing noble blessings, quit me now, 

Then, sister, not for all this island's wealth, 

For all the realms encircled by the deep, 

Would I exchange my present lot for yours. 

Eliza. And you confess at last, that you are conquer'd. 
Are all your schemes run out ? no more assassins 
Now on the road ? will no adventurer 
Attempt again, for you, the sad achievement ? 
Yes, madam, it is over: you'll seduce 
No mortal more. The world has other cares ; 
None is ambitious of the dangerous honour 
Of being your fourth husband : you destroy 
Your wooers like your husbands. 

Mary. Sister, sister ! 

Grant me forbearance, all ye powers of Heaven ! 

Eliza. Those then, my Lord of Leicester, are the charms 
Which no man with impunity can view, 
Near which no woman dare attempt to stand ? 
In sooth, this honour has been cheaply gain'd ; 



126 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

She who to all is common may with ease 
Become the common object of applause. 

Mary. This is too much ! 

Eliza. You show us now, indeed, 

Your real face ; till now 'twas but the mask. 

Mary. My sins were human, and the faults of youth ; 
Superior force mislead me. I have never 
Denied or sought to hide it : I despised 
All false appearance as became a Queen : 
The worst of me is known, and I can say 
That I am better than the fame I bear. 
Woe to you ! when, in time to come, the world 
Shall draw the robe of honour from your deeds. 
Virtue was not your portion from your mother; 
Well know we what it was which brought the head 
Of Anna Boleyn to the fatal block. 

Mary. I've supported 

What human nature can support : farewell, 
Lamb-hearted resignation ! passive patience, 
Fly to thy native Heaven ! burst at length 
Thy bonds, come forward from thy dreary cave, 
In all thy fury, long-suppressed rancour! 
And thou, who to the anger'd basilisk 
Impart'st the murderous glance, O, arm my tongue 
With poison'd darts ! 

A bastard soils, 
Profanes the English throne ! The generous Britons 
Are cheated by a juggler, whose whole figure 
Is false and painted, heart as well as face ! 
If right prevailed, you now would in the dust 
Before me lie, for I'm your rightful monarch ! 

[Elizabeth hastily quits the stage. 

Gone hence in wrath ! 
She carries death within her heart ! I know it. 






DEGREE 127 

Now I am happy ! and at last, 

After whole years of sorrow and abasement, 

One moment of victorious revenge ! 

A weight falls off my heart, a weight of mountains ; 

I plunged the steel in my oppressor's breast ! 

I have abased her before Leicester's eyes ; 
He saw it, he was witness of my triumph. 
How I did hurl her from her haughty height ! 
He saw it, and his presence strengthen'd me. 

3. Vocal Culture in Degrees of Force. 

(1) Give the sounds o, 1, a, and the words, "Mr. President, 
Ladies and Gentlemen," in all the Degrees of Force suitable 
to a room seating twenty-five persons ; give the same in a scale 
for an audience of one hundred, five hundred, two thousand, 
and five thousand respectively. 

(2) Give sounds, words, and sentences in Effusive Form in 
all the degrees of Subdued and Moderate Force in a room 
seating five hundred people. 

(3) Give the same in Expulsive Form, last degree of Sub- 
dued, Moderate, and first degree of Energetic Force. 

(4) Give the same in Explosive Form in last degree of Mod- 
erate and all the degrees of Energetic Force. 

(5) Apply the scale of Force to each Quality in Expulsive 
Form, using the continuant sounds e, 00, a. 

(6) Give a, e, I, o, u, through all Degrees of Force, with notes 
of speech alternating in rising and falling inflections. 

The student should vary these exercises and give them 
according to his strength and needs, and should not forget the 
suggestions (p. 12) in regard to the mental condition implied 
in the tones used. 

Selection for all Degrees of Force, 

Note. Here the student has opportunity for a free use of his knowl- 
edge of all the elements thus far studied ; and since impression must 



128 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

come before expression he should work out a clear conception of the 
thoughts, emotions, and passions of the whole selection. Conceptions 
of teachers and students will differ (and herein lies a great charm of 
the study of elocution), but the conception once determined upon, the 
laws of expression are definite enough to test the skill of the reader or 
speaker who tries to give that conception to his audience. 

MARY'S NIGHT RIDEi 
George W. Cable 

Mary Richling, the heroine of the story, was the wife of John 
Richling, a resident of New Orleans. At the breaking out of the 
Civil War she went to visit her parents in Milwaukee. About the 
time of the bombardment of New Orleans she received news of 
the dangerous illness of her husband, and she decided at once to 
reach his bedside, if possible. Taking with her, her baby daughter, 
a child of three years, she proceeded southward, where, after sev- 
eral unsuccessful attempts to secure a pass, she finally determined 
to break through the lines. 

About the middle of the night Mary Richling was sitting very 
still and upright on a large, dark horse that stood champing his 
Mexican bit in the black shadow of a great oak. Alice rested 
before her, fast asleep against her bosom. Mary held by the bridle 
another horse, whose naked saddle-tree was empty. A few steps 
in front of her the light of the full moon shone almost straight 
down upon a narrow road that just there emerged from the 
shadow of woods on either side, and divided into a main right 
fork and a much smaller one that curved around to Mary's left: 
Off in the direction of the main fork the sky was all aglow with 
camp-fires. Only just here on the left there was a cool and grate- 
ful darkness. 

She lifted her head alertly. A twig crackled under a tread, and 
the next moment a man came out of the bushes at the left, and 
without a word took the bridle of the old horse from her fingers 
and vaulted into the saddle. The hand that rested a moment on 
the cantle as he rose grasped a "navy six." He was dressed in 

1 From Dr. Sevier. 



DEGREE 129 

dull homespun, but he was the same who had been dressed in blue. 
He turned his horse and led the way down the lesser road. 

" If we'd gone on three hundred yards further," he whispered, 
falling back and smiling broadly, " we'd 'a' run into the pickets. 
I went nigh enough to see the videttes settin' on their hosses in 
the main road. This here ain't no road ; it just goes up to a nig- 
ger quarters. I've got one o' the niggers to show us the way." 

" Where is he ? " whispered Mary ; but before her companion 
could answer, a tattered form moved from behind a bush a little 
in advance and started ahead in the path, walking and beckoning. 
Presently they turned into a clear, open forest, and followed the 
long, rapid, swinging stride of the negro for nearly an hour. Then 
they halted on the bank of a deep, narrow stream. The negro 
made a motion for them to keep well to the right when they should 
enter the water. The white man softly lifted Alice to his arms, 
directed and assisted Mary to kneel in her saddle, with her skirts 
gathered carefully under her, and so they went down into the cold 
stream, the negro first, with arms outstretched above the flood ; 
then Mary, and then the white man, — or, let us say plainly, the 
spy — with the unawakened child on his breast. And so they rose 
out of it on the farther side without a shoe or garment wet, save 
the rags of their dark guide. 

Again they followed him, along a line of stake-and-rider fence, 
with the woods on one side and the bright moonlight flooding a 
field of young cotton on the other. Now they heard the distant 
baying of house-dogs, now the doleful call of the chuck-will's- 
widow, and once Mary's blood turned, for an instant, almost to 
ice at the unearthly shriek of the hoot-owl just above her head. 
At length they found themselves in a dim, narrow road, and the 
negro stopped. 

" Dess keep dish yeh road fo' 'bout half mile, an' you strak 
'pon de broad, main road. Tek de left, an' you go whah yo' fancy 
tek you." 

" Good-by," whispered Mary. 

" Good-by, Miss," said the negro, in the same low voice ; "good- 
by, boss ; don't you fo'git you promise tek me thoo to de Yankee' 
when you come back. I 'feered you gwine fo'git it, boss." 



130 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The spy said he would not, and they left him. The half mile 
was soon passed, though it turned out to be a mile and a half, and 
at length Mary's companion looked back, as they rode single file 
with Mary in the rear, and said softly : 

"There's the road," pointing at its broad, pale line with his 
six-shooter. 

As they entered it and turned to the left, Mary, with Alice again 
in her arms, moved somewhat ahead of her companion, her indif- 
ferent horsemanship having compelled him to drop back to avoid 
a prickly bush. His horse was just quickening his pace to regain 
the lost position, when a man sprang up from the ground on the 
farther side of the highway, snatched a carbine from the earth and 
cried, » Halt ! " 

The dark recumbent forms of six or eight others could be seen, en- 
veloped in their blankets, lying about a few red coals. Mary turned 
a frightened look backward and met the eyes of her companion. 

" Move a little faster," said he, in a low, clear voice. As she 
promptly did so she heard him answer the challenge, as his horse 
trotted softly after hers. 

" Don't stop us, my friend ; we're taking a sick child to the 
docter." 

" Halt, you hound ! " the cry rang out ; and as Mary glanced 
back three or four men were just leaping into the road. But she 
saw also her companion, his face suffused with an earnestness that 
was almost an agony, rise in his stirrups with the stoop of his 
shoulders all gone, and wildly cry : 

"Go!" 

She smote the horse and flew. Alice woke and screamed. 

" Hush, my darling," said the mother, laying on the withe ; 
" mamma's here. Hush, darling, mamma's here. Don't be fright- 
ened, darling baby. O God, spare my child ! " and away she sped. 

The report of a carbine rang out and went rolling away in a 
thousand echoes through the wood. Two others followed in sharp 
succession, and there went close by Mary's ear the waspish whine 
of a minie-ball. At the same moment she recognized, once, — 
twice, — thrice, — just at her back where the hoofs of her com- 
panion's horse were clattering — the tart rejoinders of his navy six. 



STRESS 131 

" Go ! " he cried again. " Lay low ! lay low ! cover the child ! " 
But his words were needless. With head bowed forward and 
form crouched over the crying, clinging child, with slackened 
rein and fluttering dress, and sun-bonnet and loosened hair 
blown back upon her shoulders, with lips compressed and silent 
prayers, Mary was riding for life and liberty and her husband's 
bedside. 

" O mamma, mamma," wailed the terrified little one. 

" Go on ! Go on ! " cried the voice behind; " they're — saddling 
up ! Go ! go ! We're goin' to make it ! We're goin' to make it ! 
Go-0-0 ! " 

And they made it ! 



SECTION III. STRESS 

Stress is the location of the strongest portion of a given 
degree of Force upon a certain part of the sound or syllable. 
A shifting of this location changes the sense of the phrase. 
To illustrate : if, in answering a direct question, the word " no " 
be given with the main Force on the first part of that mono- 
syllable, it is a simple negative answer \ now place the strongest 
Force on the last part of the word and the impression of 
determination or impatience is given ; place it upon the first 
and last parts and it becomes irony or sarcasm ; with the 
strength applied to the middle of the word it becomes pathetic 
or mournful \ give the same Force throughout and it means a 
call; and finally, if the Force be applied tremulously, the 
utterance shows feebleness or agitation. It is evident that 
each change of the location of Force adds a new significance 
to the word "no." These illustrations prove our proposition; 
and accepting it as a fact, we must know exactly the signifi- 
cance of each Stress and be guided by that knowledge in our 
study of expression. Broadly speaking, Stress belongs to the 
Mental Nature, but its varieties and kinds represent all three 
of the natures of man. 



132 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

There are six Stresses, — (i) Radical, (2) Final, (3)- Com- 
pound, (4) Median, (5) Thorough, and (6) Intermittent. Their 
relation to the Triune Nature is shown as follows : 



Radical _ 

= Mental 

Compound^ - ■—"" 

^ Median ^.Emotive \ } 

Final,-—"" 
Thorough .__1~lrr=, Vital 
Intermittent-'"' 



i. Radical Stress. 

The Radical is that Stress in which the Force is applied 
strongest on the first part of the sound, syllable, or word, as 
shown in the following cuts : 



-Expulsive 
Radical \ 

-Explosive 



It is heard in the tick of a clock, the tap of a drum, the 
clapping of hands, the report of a gun, and in animated con- 
versation. It is the ordinary Stress which conveys the meaning 
of the language, while each of the other Stresses conveys some 
special emotion or gives vitality to specially emphatic words ; 
it therefore belongs to the Mental division of Man's Triune 
Nature. It is given with the Expulsive and Explosive Forms, 
and is used to express narration, joy, patriotism, courage, 
hate, anger, or dread, according to the Quality of voice in 
which it is given. 

The Radical Stress gives clearness and brilliancy to vocal 
utterance ; it gives a clean-cut edge to words, makes them 
penetrate space and fall with precision and force upon the ear 
of the audience. It is the most commonly used of the Stresses, 
and by its definiteness and clearness in impressing the ear it 
adds great charm to conversation and to public speech. 



STRESS 133 

Illustrative Selection. 

Note. In reading the following selection the students should make 
clean-cut, definite strokes of voice at the beginning of the accented 
syllables throughout. As Radical is the Stress most frequently used, 
it should be practiced assiduously. 

HAMLET'S ADVICE TO THE PLAYERS 
William Shakespeare 

Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trip- 
pingly on the tongue : but if you mouth it, as many of our players 
do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw 
the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently ; for in 
the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your 
passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give 
it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious 
periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split 
the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of 
nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows and noise : I would have 
such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant ; it out-Herods 
Herod : pray you, avoid it. 

Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your 
tutor : suit the action to the word, the word to the action ; with 
this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of 
nature : for any thing so overdone is from the purpose of playing, 
whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as 
'twere, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, 
scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his 
form and pressure. Now this overdone or come tardy off, though 
it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve ; 
the censure of the which one must in your allowance o'erweigh a 
whole theatre of others. O, there be players that I have seen 
play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it pro- 
fanely, that, neither having the accent of Christians nor the gait 
of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed that I 
have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men and 
not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably. 



134 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

2. Final Stress. 

The Final is that Stress in which the Force is applied more 
strongly to the last part of the sound, syllable, or word, as indi- 
cated by the following cuts : 



Final 




-Expulsive 
-Explosive 



It is heard in a sneeze, a hiccough, in the premonitory 
growl and angry snap of a dog, in the scoff of disgust, or in 
the determined tones of a resolute, self-willed person. It is 
one of the pivotal Stresses, and represents about equally the 
Mental and Emotive Natures of Man, when the thought has a 
very determined, self-assertive, or insistent motive impelling its 
utterance. It is given only with the Expulsive and Explosive 
Forms of Voice, as shown in the above cuts, and is used to 
express determination, defiance, peevishness, snarling, fright, 
revenge, amazement, or terror according to the Quality in 
which it is given. 

Illustrative Selection, 

Note. In the following selection certain words, a few of which we 
have underscored, show great determination and firm resolve. Such 
words should be read with the Final Stress, which gives an expression 
of firmness and insistency. 

HENRY V TO HIS TROOPS 

William Shakespeare 

Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more ; 

Or close the wall up with our English dead. 

In peace there's nothing so becomes a man 

As modest stillness and humility : 

But when the blast of war blows in our ears, 

Then imitate the action of the tiger ; 

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, 



STRESS 135 

Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage ; 

Then lend the eye a terrible aspect ; 

Let it pry through the portage of the head 

Like the brass canon ; let the brow o'erwhelm it, 

As fearfully as doth a galled rock 

O'erhang and jutty his confounded base, 

Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean. 

Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide, 

Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit 

To his full height. On, on, you noble English, 

Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof ! 

Fathers that, like so many Alexanders, 

Have in these parts from morn till even fought 

And sheathed their swords for lack of argument : 

Dishonour not your mothers ; now attest 

That those whom you call 'd fathers did beget you. 

Be copy now to men of grosser blood, 

And teach them how to war. And you, good yeomen, 

Whose limbs were made in England, show us here 

The mettle of your pasture ; let us swear 

That you are worth your breeding : which I doubt not ; 

For there is none of you so mean and base, 

That hath not noble lustre in your eyes. 

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, 

Straining upon the start. The game's afoot : 

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge 

Cry " God for Harry, England, and Saint George ! " 

3. Compound Stress. 

In the Compound Stress the Force is placed upon the first 
and last parts of the sound. It may be given in either the 
Expulsive or the Explosive Form : 



Compound < 



( * """j -Expulsive 

"""2^^^^ Explosive 



136 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

It is heard in mimicry, mocking laughter, taunt, or when- 
ever one is impelled by a satirical motive. It is also a pivotal 
Stress (p. 132), and represents about equally the Emotive and 
Vital Natures. It is a " double-faced " Stress, and is character- 
istic of falsity of statement or ironical motive, and is used to ex- 
press irony, sarcasm, ridicule, mockery, satire, taunt, derision. 

Illustrative Selection. 

Note. A few words given in Compound Stress will tinge with sar- 
casm or irony the whole selection. Let the student seek out these 
expressive words and apply this stress to them ; we have underscored a 
few of them. 

THE IRISH DISTURBANCE BILL 
Daniel O'Connell 

I do not rise to fawn or cringe to this house. I do not rise to 
supplicate you to be merciful toward the nation to which I 
belong, — toward a nation which, though subject to England, yet 
is distinct from it. It is a distinct nation ; it has been treated as 
such by this country, as may be proved by history, and by seven 
hundred years of tyranny. 

I call upon this house, as you value the liberty of England, not 
to allow the present nefarious bill to pass. In it are involved the 
liberties of England, the liberty of the press, and of every other 
institution dear to Englishmen. Against the bill I protest in the 
name of this Irish people, and in the face of Heaven. I treat with 
scorn the puny and pitiful assertions that grievances are not to be 
complained of, that our redress is not to, be agitated ! for, in such 
cases, remonstrances cannot be too strong, agitation cannot be too 
violent, to show to the world with what injustice our fair claims 
are met, and under what tyranny the people suffer. 

There are two frightful clauses in this bill. The one which does 
away with trial by jury, and which I have called upon you to bap- 
tize : you call it a court-martial, — a mere nickname ; I stigmatize 
it as a revolutionary tribunal. What, in the name of Heaven, is it, 
if it is not a revolutionary tribunal ? 



STRESS 137 

It annihilates the trial by jury ; it drives the judge from his 
bench, — the man who, from experience, could weigh the nice and 
delicate points of a case ; who could discriminate between the 
straightforward testimony and the suborned evidence ; who could 
see, plainly and readily, the justice or injustice of the accusation. 

It turns out this man who is free, unshackled, unprejudiced, 
who has no previous opinions to control the clear exercise of his 
duty. You do away with that which is more sacred than the throne 
itself, — that for which your King reigns, your Lords deliberate, 
your Commons assemble. 

If ever I doubted before of the success of our agitation for 
repeal, this bill, this infamous bill, the way in which it has been 
received by the House, the manner in which its opponents have 
been treated, the personalities to which they have been subjected, 
the yells with which one of them has this night been greeted, — 
all these things dissipate my doubts, and tell me of its complete 
and early triumph. 

Do you think those yells will be forgotten ? Do you suppose 
their echo will not reach the plains of my injured and insulted 
country ; that they will not be whispered in her green valleys, and 
heard from her lofty hills ? 

Oh, they will be heard there ! Yes ; and they will not be for- 
gotten. The youth of Ireland will bound with indignation ; they 
will say, "We are eight millions ; and you treat us thus, as though 
we were no more to your country than the isle of Guernsey or of 
Jersey ! " 

I have done my duty ; I stand acquitted to my conscience and 
my country; I have opposed this measure throughout; and I 
now protest against it as harsh, oppressive, uncalled for, unjust, — 
as establishing an infamous precedent by retaliating crime against 
crime, — as tyrannous, cruelly and vindictively tyrannous. 

4. Median Stress. 

The Median is that stress in which the main Force is placed 
upon the middle of the sound, producing a swell of the voice 
which may be gentle or intense according to the sentiment 



138 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



expressed. It may be given with notes of song and speech 
in various lengths of Quantity, and with the Effusive Form 
only, as represented in the following cut : 



Median -*<^ 2 ^ >" -Effusive 

It is heard in nature in the moaning wind, the howl of a 
dog, the groan of a child, the swelling notes of the pipe organ, 
and in the sigh of pathos or sorrow. The Median is a dis- 
tinctly Emotive Stress and may be used to express those senti- 
ments or emotions already ascribed to the Effusive Form and 
its appropriate Qualities (see table, p. 114), such as solemnity ', 
reverence, weakness, indifference, whining, awe, secrecy, etc. 

Illustrative Selection, 

Note. In practicing for Median Stress strive for smoothness and 
evenness of tone, and for swelling notes, not abrupt tones. Seek out the 
expressive words, those which best reflect the sentiment, and apply this 
Stress to them. We have underscored such words in the first stanza. 

SAILING BEYOND SEAS 
Jean Ingelow 

Methought the stars were blinking bright, 

And the old brig's sails unfurled ; 
I said: " I will sail to my love this night, 

At the other side of the world." 
I stepp'd aboard — we sail'd so fast — 

The sun shot up from the bourn ; 
But a dove that perch'd upon the mast 
Did mourn, and mourn, and mourn. 
O fair dove ! O fond dove ! 

And dove with the white, white breast — 
Let me alone, the dream is my own , 
And my heart is full of rest. 

My true love fares on this great hill, 
Feeding his sheep for aye ; 






STRESS 139 

I look'd in his hut, but all was still, 

My love was gone away. 
I went to gaze in the forest creek, 

And the dove mourn'd on apace ; 
No flame did flash, nor fair blue reek 
Rose up to show me his place. 
O last love ! O first love ! 

My love with the true, true heart, 
To think I have come to this your home, 
And yet — we are apart! 

My love ! He stood at my right hand, 

His eyes were grave and sweet ; 
Methought he said : "In this far land, 

O, is it thus we meet ? 
Ah, maid most dear, I am not here ; 

I have no place, no part, 
No dwelling more by sea or shore, 
But only in thy heart." 

O fair dove ! O fond dove ! 

Till night rose over the bourn, 
The dove on the mast, as we sail'd fast, 
Did mourn, and mourn, and mourn. 

5. Thorough Stress. 

In the Thorough Stress the Force is applied throughout the 
sound or syllable with nearly uniform intensity. It may be 
given in the Expulsive and Explosive Forms with notes of 
speech and notes of song: 



Thorough 



( j Expulsive 

'Explosive 



It is heard in the crowing of the cock, the lowing of cattle, 
the call of the herdsman, and the shout of victory, all of which 
sustain our classification of the Thorough as representing most 
strongly the Vital Nature of Man. It is used under conditions 



140 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

implying distance to be overcome by a prolonged, calling 
utterance, and is the appropriate Stress for ordinary calling, 
lofty appeal, apostrophe, a scream of fright, and a cry of rage 
or alarm. 

Illustra live Selection . 

Note. In the selection chosen as an illustration only the calls and 
those parts addressed to the noisy crowd should be given in Thorough 
Stress. Continuant sounds and indefinite syllables of such parts most 
easily respond to this Stress. 

HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE 
Lord Macaulay 

Now the Consul's brow was sad, 

And the Consul's speech was low, 
And darkly look'd he at the wall, 

And darkly at the foe : 
" Their van will be upon us 

Before the bridge goes down ; 
And, if they once may win the bridge, 

What hope to save the town ? " 

Then outspake brave Horatius, 

The captain of the gate : 
" To every man upon this Earth 

Death cometh soon or late. 
And how can man die better 

Than facing fearful odds 
For the ashes of his fathers 

And the temples of his gods ? 

" Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, 

With all the speed ye may ; 
I, with two more to help me, 

Will hold the foe in play, — 
In yon strait path a thousand 



STRESS 141 

May well be stopp'd by three. 
Now who will stand on either hand, 
And keep the bridge with me ?" 

Then outspake Spurius Lartius, — 

A Ramnian proud was he : 
" Lo, I will stand at thy right hand, 

And keep the bridge with thee." 
And outspake strong Herminius, — 

Of Titian blood was he : 
" I will abide on thy left side, 

And keep the bridge with thee." 

" Horatius," quoth the Consu], 

" As thou say'st, so let it be." 
And straight against that great array 

Forth went the dauntless Three. 
Now, while the Three were tightening 

Their harness on their backs, 
The Consul was the foremost man 

To take in hand an axe ; 
And Fathers mix'd with Commons 

Seized hatchet, bar, and crow, 
And smote upon the planks above, 

And loosed the props below. 

Meanwhile the Tuscan army, 

Right glorious to behold, 
Came flashing back the noonday light, 
Rank behind rank, like surges bright 

Of a broad sea of gold. 
Four hundred trumpets sounded 

A peal of warlike glee, 
As that great host, with measured tread, 
And spears advanced, and ensigns spread, 
Roll'd slowly towards the bridge's head, 

Where stood the dauntless Three. 



142 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

But now no sound of laughter 

Was heard amongst the foes. 
A wild and wrathful clamour 

From all the vanguard rose. 
Six spears' lengths from the entrance 

Halted that mighty mass, 
And for a space no man came forth 

To win the narrow pass. 

But, hark ! the cry is Astur : 

And, lo ! the ranks divide ; 
And the great lord of Luna 

Comes with his stately stride. 
Quoth he, " The she-wolf's litter 

Stand savagely at bay ; 
But will ye dare to follow, 

If Astur clears the way ? " 

Then, whirling up his broadsword 

With both hands to the height, 
He rush'd against Horatius, 

And smote with all his might. 
With shield and blade Horatius 

Right deftly turn'd the blow ; 
The blow, though turn'd, came yet too nigh ; 
It miss'd his helm, but gash'd his thigh. 
The Tuscans raised a joyful cry 

To see the red blood flow. 

He reel'd, and on Herminius 

He lean'd one breathing-space, 
Then, like a wild-cat mad with wounds, 

Sprang right at Astur's face. 
Through teeth and skull and helmet 

So fierce a thrust he sped, 
The good sword stood a handbreadth out 

Behind the Tuscan's head. 



STRESS 143 

But meanwhile axe and lever 

Have manfully been plied, 
And now the bridge hangs tottering 

Above the boiling tide. 
" Come back, come back, Horatius ! " 

Loud cried the Fathers all ; 
"Back, Lartius ! back, Herminius ! 

Back, ere the ruin fall ! " 

Back darted Spurius Lartius ; 

Herminius darted back ; 
And, as they pass'd, beneath their feet 

They felt the timbers crack ; 
But, when they turn'd their faces, 

And on the further shore 
Saw brave Horatius stand alone, 

They would have cross'd once more. 
But, with a crash like thunder, 

Fell every loosen'd beam, 
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck 

Lay right athwart the stream ; 
And a long shout of triumph 

Rose from the walls of Rome, 
As to the highest turret-tops 

Was splash'd the yellow foam. 

Alone stood brave Horatius, 

But constant still in mind, — 
Thrice thirty thousand foes before, 

And the broad flood behind. 
" Down with him S " cried false Sextus, 

With a smile on his pale face ; 
" Now yield thee," cried Lars Porsena, 

" Now yield thee to our grace ! " 

Round turn'd he, as not deigning 

Those craven ranks to see ; 
Nought spake he to Lars Porsena, 



144 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

To Sextus nought spake he ; 
But he saw on Palatinus 

The white porch of his home ; 
And he spake to the noble river 

That rolls by the towers of Rome : 

" O Tiber ! Father Tiber ! 

To whom the Romans pray, 
A Roman's life, a Roman's arms, 

Take thou in charge this day ! " 
So he spake, and, speaking, sheathed 

The good sword by his side, 
And, with his harness on his back, 

Plunged headlong in the tide. 

No sound of joy or sorrow 

Was heard from either bank, 
But friends and foes in dumb surprise, 
With parted lips and straining eyes, 

Stood gazing where he sank ; 
And, when above the surges 

They saw his crest appear, 
All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry, 
And even the ranks of Tuscany 

Could scarce forbear to cheer. 

But fiercely ran the current, 

Swoll'n high by months of rain, 
And fast his blood was flowing ; 

And he was sore in pain, 
And heavy with his armour, 

And spent with changing blows ; 
And oft they thought him sinking, 

But still again he rose. 

And now he feels the bottom ; — 

Now on dry earth he stands ; 
Now round him throng the Fathers 



Intermittent 



STRESS 145 

To press his gory hands. 
And, now with shouts and clapping, 

And noise of weeping loud, 
He enters through the River Gate, 

Borne by the joyous crowd. 

6. Intermittent Stress. 

The Intermittent is that Stress in which the main Force is 
applied in alternating impulses throughout the sound or word. 
It may be given in all three of the Forms of Voice with either 
notes of song or notes of speech : 

'<0000 Effu ^e 

OOOOO Ex p* lsive 

, DOOOG Ex P losi ve 

It is heard whenever the body becomes tremulous, as in the 
chilling effect of cold or under the excitement of extreme 
fright or ecstasy. One speaking while riding in a wagon over 
a rough street would vocalize in an unavoidable Intermittent 
Stress. Since it is an expressional result of physical conditions 
it represents the Vital Nature of Man, and is used to express 
tenderness, deep pathos, ecstatic joy, deep reverence, feebleness, 
whimpering, rage, horror, and intense fear, according to the 
Quality and Form used. 

Illustrative Selection, 

Note. The tender and pathetic parts of the following selection will 
be found to respond easily to this Stress. Remember that Intermittent 
is the broken, tearful voice of grief or other great excitement. Once in 
possession of this Stress the student should avoid its excessive use. 

THE SOLDIER'S REPRIEVE 

R. D. C. Robbins 

" I thought, Mr. Allan, when I gave my Bennie to his country, 

that not a father in all this broad land made so precious a gift, — 

no, not one. The dear boy only slept a minute, just one little 



146 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

minute, at his post ; I know that was all, for Bennie never dozed 
over a duty. How prompt and reliable he was ! I know he only 
fell asleep one little second ; — he was so young, and not strong, 
that boy of mine ! Why, he was as tall as I, and only eighteen ! and 
now they shoot him because he was found asleep when doing sen- 
tinel duty ! Twenty-four hours, the telegram said, — only twenty- 
four hours. Where is Bennie now ? " 

" We will hope with his heavenly Father," said Mr. Allan, 
soothingly. 

" Yes, yes ; let us hope ; God is very merciful ! " 

"*I should be ashamed, father!' Bennie said, 'when I am a 
man, to think I never used this great right arm ' — and he held it 
out so proudly before me — ' for my country, when it needed it ! 
Palsy it rather than keep it at the plow ! ' 

"'Go, then, go, my boy,' I said, 'and God keep you!' God 
has kept him, I think, Mr. Allan ! " and the farmer repeated these 
last words slowly, as if, in spite of his reason, his heart doubted 
them. 

" Like the apple of His eye, Mr. Owen, doubt it not ! " 

Blossom sat near them listening, with blanched cheek. She had 
not shed a tear. Her anxiety had been so concealed that no one 
had noticed it. She had occupied herself mechanically in the 
household cares. Now she answered a gentle tap at the kitchen 
door, opening it to receive from a neighbor's hand a letter. " It is 
from him," was all she said. 

It was like a message from the dead ! Mr. Owen took the 
letter, but could not break the envelope, on account of his trem- 
bling fingers, and held it toward Mr. Allan, with the helplessness 
of a child. 

The minister opened it, and read as follows : 

" Dear Father : — When this reaches you, I shall be in eter- 
nity. At first, it seemed awful to me ; but I have thought about it 
so much now, that it has no terror. They say they will not bind me, 
nor blind me ; but that I may meet my death like a man. I thought, 
father, it might have been on the battlefield, for my country, and 
that, when I fell, it would be fighting gloriously ; but to be shot 
down like a dog for nearly betraying it, — to die for neglect of 



STRESS 147 

duty ! O father, I wonder the very thought does not kill me ! But 
I shall not disgrace you. I am going to write you all about it ; and 
when I am gone, you may tell my comrades. I cannot now. 

" You know I promised Jemmie Carrs mother I would look 
after her boy; and, when he fell sick, I did all I could for him. 
He was not strong when he was ordered back into the ranks, and 
the day before that night, I carried all his luggage, besides my 
own, on our march. Toward night we went in on double-quick, 
and though the luggage began to feel very heavy, everybody else 
was tired too ; and as for Jemmie, if I had not lent him an arm 
now and then, he would have dropped by the way. I was all tired 
out when we came into camp, and then it was Jemmie's turn to be 
sentry, and I would take his place ; but I was too tired, father. I 
could not have kept awake if a gun had been pointed at my head ; 
but I did not know it until — well, until it was too late." 

"God be thanked ! " interrupted Mr. Owen, reverently. " I knew 
Bennie was not the boy to sleep carelessly at his post." 

" They tell me to-day that I have a short reprieve, — given to me 
by circumstances, — 'time to write to you,' our good Colonel says. 
Forgive him, father, he only does his duty ; he would gladly save 
me if he could ; and do not lay my death up against Jemmie. The 
poor boy is broken-hearted, and does nothing but beg and entreat 
them to let him die in my stead. 

" I can't bear to think of mother and Blossom. Comfort them, 
father ! Tell them I die as a brave boy should, and that, when the 
war is over, they will not be ashamed of me, as they must be now. 
God help me : it is very hard to bear ! Good-by, father ! God 
seems near and dear to me ; not at all as if He wished me to perish 
forever, but as if He felt sorry for His poor, sinful, broken-hearted 
child, and would take me to be with Him and my Saviour in a 
better — better life." 

A deep sigh burst from Mr. Owen's heart. " Amen>" he said, 
solemnly, — " Amen." 

" To-night, in the early twilight, I shall see the cows all coming 
home from pasture, and precious little Blossom standing on the 
back stoop, waiting for me — but I shall never, never come ! God 
bless you all ! Forgive your poor Bennie." 



148 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Late that night the door of the " back stoop " opened softly, and 
a little figure glided out, and down the footpath that led to the road 
by the mill. She seemed rather flying than walking, turning her 
head neither to the right nor to the left, looking only now and then 
to Heaven, and folding her hands as if in prayer. Two hours later, 
the same young girl stood at the Mill Depot, watching the com- 
ing of the night train ; and the conductor, as he reached down to 
lift her into the car, wondered at the tear-stained face that was 
upturned toward the dim lantern he held in his hand. A few 
questions and ready answers told him all ; and no father could 
have cared more tenderly for his only child than he for our little 
Blossom. 

She was on her way to Washington, to ask President Lincoln 
for her brother's life. She had stolen away, leaving only a note to 
tell her father where and why she had gone. She had brought Ben- 
nie's letter with her; no good, kind heart, like the President's, 
could refuse to be melted by it. The next morning they reached 
New York, and the conductor hurried her on to Washington. 
Every minute, now, might be the means of saving her brother's life. 
And so, in an incredibly short time, Blossom reached the Capital, 
and hastened immediately to the White House. 

The President had but just seated himself to his morning's task 
of overlooking and signing important papers, when, without one 
word of announcement, the door softly opened, and Blossom, with 
downcast eyes and folded hands, stood before him. 

" Well, my child," he said, in his pleasant, cheerful tones, " what 
do you want so bright and early in the morning ? " 

" Bennie's life, please, sir," faltered Blossom. 

" Bennie ? Who is Bennie ? " 

" My brother, sir. They are going to shoot him for sleeping at 
his post." 

" Oh, yes," and Mr. Lincoln ran his eye over the papers before 
him. " I remember ! It was a fatal sleep. You see, child, it was at 
a time of special danger. Thousands of lives might have been lost 
for his culpable negligence." 

" So my father said," replied Blossom, gravely ; " but poor Ben- 
nie was so tired, sir, and Jemmie so weak. He did the work of two, 



STRESS 149 

sir, and it was Jemmie's night, not his ; but Jemmie was too tired, 
and Bennie never thought about himself, that he was tired, too." 

" What is this you say, child ? Come here ; I do not understand," 
and the kind man caught eagerly, as ever, at what seemed to be a 
justification of an offense. 

Blossom went to him ; he put his hand tenderly on her shoulder, 
and turned up the pale, anxious face toward his. How tall he 
seemed, and he was President of the United States, too ! A dim 
thought of this kind passed for a moment through Blossom's mind ; 
but she told her simple and straightforward story, and handed Mr. 
Lincoln Bennie's letter to read. 

He read it carefully ; then, taking up his pen, wrote a few hasty 
lines, and rang his bell. 

Blossom heard this order given : "Send this dispatch at once." 

The President then turned to the girl and said : " Go home, my 
child, and tell that father of yours, who could approve his country's 
sentence, even when it took the life of a child like that, that Abra- 
ham Lincoln thinks the life far too precious to be lost. Go back, 
or, — wait until to-morrow ; Bennie will need a change after he has 
so bravely faced death ; he shall go with you." 

" God bless you, sir," said Blossom ; and who shall doubt that 
God heard and registered the request ? 

Two days after this interview, the young soldier came to the 
White House with his little sister. He was called into the Pres- 
ident's private room, and a strap fastened upon the shoulder. Mr. 
Lincoln then said : " The soldier that could carry a sick comrade's 
baggage, and die for the act so uncomplainingly, deserves well of 
his country." Then Bennie and Blossom took their way to the 
Green Mountain home. A crowd gathered at the Mill Depot to 
welcome them back ; and as Farmer Owen's hand grasped that of 
his boy, tears flowed down his cheeks, and he was heard to say 
fervently, " The Lord be praised ! " 

7. Vocal exercises in Stress. 

(1) Give the continuant tonic sounds a, a, a, e, o, and 00, 
with notes of song in all the Stresses; give the same with notes 
of speech. 



150 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(2) Do the same with the following words : ale, arm, all, eel, 
old, ooze, 

(3) Give the sounds o, 1, a, in the six Stresses in each of the 
eight Qualities, using the appropriate Forms of voice. 

(4) Give the same sounds in all the Stresses in the three 
Degrees of Force and the appropriate Forms. 

8. Selection for all Stresses. 

Note. The "Quarrel of Brutus and Cassius" contains so great a 
variety of passion that all or nearly all the Stresses may be found in 
the selection. Let the student find these sentiments and read them in 
their appropriate Stresses. 

THE QUARREL OF BRUTUS AND CASSIUS 
FROM "JULIUS CESAR" 

William Shakespeare 

Cassius. That you have wrong'd me doth appear in this : 
You have condemn'd and noted Lucius Pella 
For taking bribes here of the Sardians ; 
Wherein my letters, praying on his side, 
Because I knew the man, were slighted off. 

Brutus. You wrong'd yourself to write in such a case. 

Cas. At such a time as this it is not meet 
That every nice offence should bear his comment. 

Bru. Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself 
Are much condemn'd to have an itching palm ; 
To sell and mart your offices for gold 
. To undeservers. 

Cas, I an itching palm ? 

You know that you are Brutus that speak this, 
Or, by the gods, this speech were else your last. 

Bru. The name of Cassius honours this corruption, 
And chastisement doth therefore hide his head. 

Cas. Chastisement ! 

Bru. Remember March, the ides of March remember: 
Did not great Julius bleed for justice' sake ? 



STRESS 151 

What villain touch'd his body, that did stab, 
And not for justice ? What, shall one of us, 
That struck the foremost man of all this world 
But for supporting robbers, shall we now 
Contaminate our fingers with base bribes, 
And sell the mighty space of our large honours 
For so much trash as may be grasped thus ? 
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, 
Than such a Roman. 

Cas. Brutus, bay not me ; 

I'll not endure it ; you forget yourself y 
To hedge me in ; I am a soldier, I, 
Older in practice, abler than yourself 
To make conditions. 

Bru. Go to ; you are not, Cassius. 

Cas. I am. 

Bru. I say you are not. 

Cas. Urge me no more, I shall forget myself ; 
Have mind upon your health, tempt me no farther. 

Bru. Away, slight man ! 

Cas. Is't possible ? 

Bru. Hear me, for I will speak. 

Must I give way and room to your rash choler ? 
Shall I be frighted when a madman stares ? 

Cas. O ye gods ! ye gods ! must I endure all this ? 

Bru. All this ! ay, more : fret till your proud heart break ; 
Go show your slaves how choleric you are, 
And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge ? 
Must I observe you ? must I stand and crouch 
Under your testy humour ? By the gods, 
You shall digest the venom of your spleen, 
Though it do split you ; for, from this day forth, 
I'll use you for my mirth ; yea, for my laughter, 
When you are waspish. 

Cas. Is it come to this ? 

Bru. You say you are a better soldier : 
Let it appear so ; make your vaunting true, 



152 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

And it shall please me well : for mine own part, 
I shall be glad to learn of noble men. 

Cas. You wrong me every way ; you wrong me, Brutus ; 
I said an elder soldier, not a better : 
Did I say " better"? 

Bru. If you did, I care not. 

Cas. When Caesar lived, he durst not thus have moved me. 

Bru. Peace, peace ! you durst not so have tempted him. 

Cas. I durst not ! 

Bru. No. 

Cas. What, durst not tempt him ! 

Bru. For your life you durst not. 

Cas. Do not presume too much upon my love ; 
I may do that I shall be sorry for. 

Bru. You have done that you should be sorry for. 
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats, 
For I am arm'd so strong in honesty 
That they pass by me as the idle wind, 
Which I respect not. I did send to you 
For certain sums of gold, which you denied me : 
For I can raise no money by vile means : 
By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, 
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 
From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash 
By any indirection : I did send 
To you for gold to pay my legions, 
Which you denied me : was that done like Cassius ? 
Should I have answer'd Caius Cassius so ? 
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, 
To lock such rascal counters from his friends, 
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts ; 
Dash him to pieces ! 

Cas. I denied you not. 

Bru. You did. 

Cas. I did not : he was but a fool that brought 
My answer back. Brutus hath rived my heart : 
A friend should bear a friend's infirmities, 



STRESS 153 

But Brutus makes mine greater than they are. 

Bm. I do not, till you practise them on me. 

Cas. You love me not. 

Bru. I do not like your faults. 

Cas. A friendly eye could never see such faults. 

Bru. A flatterer's would not, though they do appear 
As huge as high Olympus. 

Cas. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come, 
Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, 
For Cassius is aweary of the world ; 
Hated by one he loves ; braved by his brother ; 
Check'd like a bondman ; all his faults observed, 
Set in a note-book, learn'd, and conn'd by rote, 
To cast into my teeth. O, I could weep 
My spirit from my eyes ! There is my dagger, 
And here my naked breast ; within, a heart 
Dearer than Plutus' mine, richer than gold : 
If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth ; 
I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart: 
Strike, as thou didst at Caesar ; for, I know, 
When thou didst hate him worst, thou lovedst him better 
Than ever thou lovedst Cassius. 

Bru. Sheathe your dagger : 
Be angry when you will, it shall have scope ; 
Do what you wilt, dishonour shall be humour. 
O Cassius, you are yoked with a lamb 
That carries anger as the flint bears fire ; 
Who, much enforced, shows a hasty spark, 
And straight is cold again. 

Cas. Hath Cassius lived 

To be but mirth and laughter to his Brutus, 
When grief, and blood ill-temper 'd, vexeth him? 

Bru. When I spoke that, I was ill-temper'd too. 

Cas. Do you confess so much ? Give me your hand. 

Bru. And my heart too. 

Cas. O Brutus ! 

Bru. What's the matter ? 



154 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Cos. Have you not love enough to bear with me, 
When that rash humour which my mother gave me 
Makes me forgetful ? 

Bru. Yes, Cassius ; and, from henceforth, 
When you are over-earnest with your Brutus, 
He'll think your mother chides, and leave you so. 



CHAPTER VIII 

PITCH 

Pitch is the location, variation, and succession of notes upon 
the scale. Location means the point in the compass of voice 
at which a sound is uttered ; variation means the transition 
from one Degree of Pitch to another ; and succession means 
the relative position and changes of the notes or words as they 
progress in utterance. 

Broadly speaking, Pitch represents the Mental nature. Man, 
the most intellectual of all beings, makes the most varied and 
complex use of Pitch to express his thoughts and emotions; 
while all of a class or family of lower animals employ the same 
set of changes of Pitch to convey their limited range of vocal 
expression. 

The above definition implies three subdivisions of Pitch, — 
(i) Degree, (2) Change, and (3) Melody, — which correspond 
respectively to the Emotive, Mental, and Vital natures of man, 
as shown in the diagram which follows : 

( Degree Emotive "1 

Pitch i Change ..... Mental L Man 
[Melody Vital J 

SECTION I. DEGREE OF PITCH 

Degree of Pitch is the range or compass of voice from the 
lowest to the highest note, and the position on the scale in 
which tones or words are uttered. Degrees of Pitch mark plainly 



DEGREE OF PITCH 



155 



High 



the speaker's Emotive state ; and the emotion to be expressed 
may range from the deeply serious and reverential emotions of 
very Low Degree to the cry of excitement, joy, alarm, or defi- 
ance of very High Degree. In no way does one's excitement 
or lack of poise manifest itself so clearly as in his speaking in 
too high a key ; and the low notes of sorrow or grief are 
unmistakably Emotive. 

There are three Degrees of Pitch, — (i) Low, (2) Middle, 
and (3) High, — each of which may be further subdivided to 
suit the varieties of shading in expression. 
These Degrees are dependent upon the num- 
ber of vibrations in a given time, ranging 
from about 40 to 4000 in a second, — the 
higher the Degree, the greater the number 
of vibrations, as shown in the number of par- 
allel lines in the accompanying figure. 

1. Scale of Pitch. 

This scale, like that in Movement and 
Force, is relative, and is dependent upon 
(1) individuality, (2) acoustic conditions, and 
(3) the sentiment to be expressed. 

(1) Each individual speaks on a scale of 
Pitch peculiar to himself, the normal scale 
of one being higher or lower than that of 
another. This individuality should be pre- 
served unless the scale is abnormally low or 
high, in which case the student should prac- 
tice in the various degrees of Pitch until he 
can raise or lower his voice at will. 

(2) The scale of Pitch of the individual 
should be regulated by the size and shape of each auditorium, 
which has a fundamental key of Pitch peculiar to itself. As 
the station master calls the trains in the different rooms of the 



Middle ■ 



Low < 



156 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

building and out on the platform, it will be noticed that he 
uses different degrees of Pitch. In like manner, the speaker 
should " catch the Pitch " of his auditorium. 

(3) The scale of Pitch once established by the individuality 
of the speaker and the auditorium, he should suit his Degrees 
of Pitch to the sentiments and emotions he wishes to portray. 
There is a close relation between Degrees of Pitch and 
Degrees of Movement (p. 65). A small bell makes High 
Pitch and swings rapidly ; a large bell swings slowly and makes 
Low Pitch. A child's vocal organs are small ; he speaks rapidly 
and his scale of Pitch ranges High. A man's voice is lower in 
Pitch and he speaks more slowly. This is true of musical 
instruments of various sizes and shapes. 

2. Law of use. 

Following this analogy we see that the large, deeply serious 
or reflective emotions, such as reverence, sublimity, devotio?t, 
solemnity, sorrow, gloom, pathos, awe, and veneration, take the 
Low Degrees of Pitch. 

When not moved by any unusual emotion we express narra- 
tive, didactic thought, calm reasoning, argumentative discourse, 
patriotism, and courage in the Middle Degrees of Pitch ; 
while joy, laughter, alarm, fright, rage, or consternation are 
given naturally in the High Degrees of Pitch. 

Each Degree is associated and blended with the Degree 
next to it, — the High with the upper portion of the Middle, 
the Low with the lower portion, and the Middle usually with 
some notes in both the other Degrees. 

3. Illustrative Selections. 

Note. In the selections illustrating the several Degrees of Pitch 
avoid the monotony which comes of confining the voice to too narrow 
a compass. The selection assigned to Low Degree may not all be appro- 
priately given in that Degree. The main purpose should be to give 
each sentiment its proper Pitch wherever it is found. 






DEGREE OF PITCH 157 

(1) Selection illustrating Low Degree of Pitch, 

RESIGNATION 
H. W. Longfellow 

There is no flock, however watched and tended, 

But one dead lamb is there ! 
There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, 

But has one vacant chair ! 

The air is full of farewells to the dying, 

And mournings for the dead ; 
The heart of Rachel, for her children crying, 

Will not be comforted ! 

Let us be patient ! These severe afflictions 

Not from the ground arise, 
But oftentimes celestial benedictions 

Assume this dark disguise. 

We see but dimly through the mists and vapors ; 

Amid these earthly damps 
What seem to us but sad, funereal tapers 

May be heaven's distant lamps. 

There is no Death ! What seems so is transition ; 

This life of mortal breath 
Is but a suburb of the life elysian, 

Whose portal we call Death. 

She is not dead, — the child of our affection,— 

But gone unto that school 
Where she no longer needs our poor protection, 

And Christ himself doth rule. 

In that great cloister's stillness and seclusion, 

By guardian angels led, 
Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution, 

She lives, whom we call dead. 



158 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Day after day we think what she is doing 

In those bright realms of air ; 
Year after year, her tender steps pursuing, 

Behold her grown more fair. 

Thus do we walk with her, and keep unbroken 

The bond which nature gives, 
Thinking that our remembrance, though unspoken, 

May reach her where she lives. 

Not as a child shall we again behold her ; 

For when with raptures wild 
In our embraces we again enfold her, 

She will not be a child ; 

But a fair maiden, in her Father's mansion, 

Clothed with celestial grace ; 
And beautiful, with all the soul's expansion, 

Shall we behold her face. 

And though at times impetuous with emotion 

And anguish long suppressed, 
The swelling heart heaves moaning like the ocean, 

That cannot be at rest, — 

We will be patient, and assuage the feeling 

We may not wholly stay ; 
By silence sanctifying, not concealing, 

The grief that must have way. 

(2) Selection illustrating Middle Degree of Pitch. 

THE SKY 

John Ruskin 

It is a strange thing how little in general people know about the 
sky, and yet there is not a moment of any day of our lives, when 
Nature is not producing scene after scene, picture after picture, 
glory after glory, working upon exquisite and constant principles 



DEGREE OF PITCH 



159 



of the most perfect beauty. And every man, wherever placed, 
however far from other sources of interest or of beauty, has this 
doing for him constantly. Yet, if in our moments of utter idle- 
ness and insipidity, we turn to the sky as a last resource, which of 
its phenomena do we speak of ? One says, it has been wet ; and 
another, it has been windy ; and another, it has been warm. Who 
among the whole chattering crowd can tell one of the forms and 
the precipices of the chain of tall white mountains that girded the 
horizon at noon yesterday? Who saw the narrow sunbeam that 
came out of the south, and smote upon their summits until they 
melted and moldered away in the dust of blue rain ? Who saw the 
dance of the dead clouds where the sunlight left them last night, 
and the west wind blew them before it like withered leaves ? All 
has passed unregretted as unseen ; or if the apathy be ever shaken 
off even for an instant, it is only by what is gross, or what is extraor- 
dinary. And yet it is not in the broad and fierce manifestations 
of the elemental energies, nor in the clash of the hail, nor the drift 
of the whirlwind, that the highest characters of the sublime are 
developed. God is not in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the 
still small voice. They are but the blunt and the low faculties of 
our nature which can be addressed only through lampblack and 
lightning. It is in quiet and subdued passages of unobtrusive maj- 
esty, the deep and the calm, and the perpetual ; that which must 
be sought ere it is seen, and loved ere it is understood ; things which 
the angels work out for us daily, and yet vary eternally; which 
are never wanting, and never repeated, which are to be found 
always, yet each found but once ; it is through these that the lesson 
of devotion is chiefly taught, and the blessing of beauty given. 

(3) Selection illustrating High Degree of Pitch. 

RING OUT, WILD BELLS 
Tennyson 

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, 
The flying cloud, the frosty light : 
The year is dying in the night ; 

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. 



l6o ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Ring out the old, ring in the new. 
Ring, happy bells, across the snow : 
The year is going ; let him go ; 

Ring out the false, ring in the true. 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind, 
For those that here we see no more ; 
Ring out the feud of rich and poor, 

Ring in redress to all mankind. 

Ring out a slowly dying cause, 
And ancient, forms of party strife ; 
Ring in the nobler modes of life, 

With sweeter manners, purer laws. 

Ring out the want, the care, the sin, 
The faithless coldness of the times ; 
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, 

But ring the fuller minstrel in. 

Ring out false pride in place and blood, 
The civic slander and the spite ; 
Ring in the love of truth and right, 

Ring in the common love of good. 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease ; 

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold ; 

Ring out the thousand wars of old, 
Ring in the thousand years of peace. 

Ring in the valiant man and free, 
The larger heart, the kindlier hand ; 
Ring out the darkness of the land, 

Ring in the Christ that is to be. 



DEGREE OF PITCH 



161 



High c 


!J3 




^ 


c 

Middle \ 

c 


j/\ 


) 


\ 


Low 


^ 


J 1 



4. Vocal Culture in Degrees of Pitch. 

(1) Sound a, e, I, o separately in alternate slides through 
each particular Degree, then in alternate slides through the 
entire compass, thus : 



DEGREES 



(2) In the same way sound the words all, arm, oil, our, roar, 

(3) Sound a, e, a, a, o in notes of song, with Median Stress, 
through the entire compass. 

5. Selection for all Degrees of Pitch. 

Note. In the following scene there is need of great variety of 
Pitch. The greater part is in Middle Degree ; the commands and alarms 
of Macbeth are in High Degree, while his despair is in Low T Degree. 
It should be analyzed closely as to sentiment, and the voice should be 
given free play in expression. 



MACBETH AT DUNSINANE 

William Shakespeare 

Within the Castle 
Enter, with Drum and Colours, Macbeth, Seyton, 

and Soldiers. 
Macbeth. Hang out our banners on the outward walls ; 
The cry is still " They come "; our castle's strength 
Will laugh a siege to scorn : here let them lie 
Till famine and the ague eat them up : 
Were they not forced with those that should be ours, 
We might have met them dareful, beard to beard, 
And beat them backward home. [A cry of women within. 

What is that noise ? 



162 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Seyto7i. It is the cry of women, my good lord. [Exit. 

Macb. I have almost forgot the taste of fears : 
The time has been, my senses would have cooPd 
To hear a night-shriek ; and my fell of hair 
Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir 
As life were in't : I have supp'd full with horrors ; 
Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, 
Cannot once start me. 

Reenter Seyton 

Wherefore was that cry ? 

Sey. The queen, my lord, is dead. 

Macb. She should have died hereafter ; 
There would have been a time for such a word. 
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day 
To the last syllable of recorded time, 
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools 
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle ! 
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player 
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage 
And then is heard no more : it is a tale 
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 
Signifying nothing. 

Enter a Messenger 

Thou com'st to use thy tongue ; thy story quickly. 

Mess. Gracious my lord, 
I should report that which I say I saw, 
But know not how to do it. 

Macb. Well, say, sir. 

Mess. As I did stand my watch upon the hill, 
I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought, 
The wood began to move. 

Macb. Liar and slave ! 

Mess. Let me endure your wrath, if't be not so: 
Within this three mile may you see it coming ; 



CHANGE OF PITCH 163 

I say, a moving grove. 

Macb. If thou speak'st false, 

Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive, 
Till famine cling thee : if thy speech be sooth, 
I care not if thou dost for me as much. 
I pall in resolution, and begin 
To doubt th' equivocation of the fiend 
That lies like truth : " Fear not, till Birnam wood 
Do come to Dunsinane : " and now a wood 
Comes toward Dunsinane. Arm, arm, and out! 
If this which he avouches does appear, 
There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. 
I gin to be aweary of the sun, 

And wish the estate o' the world were now undone. 
Ring the alarum-bell ! Blow, wind ! come, wrack ! 
At least we'll die with harness on our back. \_Exeunt. 



SECTION II. CHANGE OF PITCH 

Change is the transition of sounds from one Degree of Pitch 
to another. Change is either concrete or discrete. The con- 
crete is a glide through Pitch, characteristic of the note of 
speech. The discrete is a step from one Degree to another, 
and is a vocal necessity in making concretes, for a strong 
falling concrete must be preceded by a step upward and a 
strong rising concrete by a corresponding step downward. 
Broadly speaking, Change of Pitch conveys the meaning and 
represents the Mental nature, though, like other elements, its 
subdivisions correspond more definitely to the three natures 
of man. 

There are three fundamental laws of expression which gov- 
ern all concrete changes of Pitch: (1) the direction of a 
concrete discloses its meaning, (2) the continuity of a concrete 
reveals its vitality, and (3) the length of a concrete determines 
its emotion. 



164 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

This gives rise to the three subdivisions of change, — (i) In- 
flection, (2) Waves, and (3) Intervals, — and accounts for their 
triune classification as follows : 

f Inflections . . . Mental "1 
Change <{ Waves .... Vital )> Man 
(^Intervals . . . Emotive j 

1. Inflection. 

Inflection is a simple slide of voice from one Pitch to another. 
It is used in connection with all the other vocal elements to 
convey the meaning of the sentence, and is therefore Mental. 
There are two varieties of Inflection, (1) Rising and (2) Fall- 
ing, as represented with the three Forms of Force in the 
following cuts : 





Rising: 

Effusive Expulsive Explosive 

Falling: 





(1) The Rising Inflection is a slide from a lower to a higher 
Degree of Pitch, and is always a?iticipative in significance, ex- 
pressing interrogation, hesitation, indecision, conciliation, begging, 
and incomplete sense. 

Illustrations. 

/ / 

Questioning : " Have you that book I gave you ?" 

/ / / / / v 

Hesitation : " So — yes — no — well, so be it." 

/ 
Indecision : " I think she is honest." 

/ / / 

Conciliation : "Well, well ! I only meant to put it off." 

/ 

Begging: "Give me a piece of bread." 

/ 
Incomplete sense : "Whatever may be our fate, — " 



CHANGE OF PITCH 165 

(2) The Falling Inflection is a slide of the voice from a 
higher to a lower Degree of Pitch, and is always conclusive in 
significance, expressing the answer of questions, determination, 
positiveness, scorn, denial, and completion of sense. 

Illustratio?is. 

v 

Answering: " Yes, I have that book you gave me." 

v v 

Determination: "The war, then, must go on." 

V V 

Positiveness : " I know that to be a fact." 

V ■ V . N 

Scorn: "Thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward!" 

v \ 

Denial: "We will proceed no further in this business." 

v 

Completion of sense : "The day is done." 

Selection for Rising and Falling Inflections. 

Note. While anticipative thoughts will take Rising Inflections and 
conclusive thoughts the Falling in all language, these two changes of 
Pitch are clearly shown in the questions and replies in the colloquy 
between the Old Nurse and Lady Clare. 

LADY CLARE 
Alfred Tennyson 

It was the time when lilies blow, 

And clouds are highest up in air, 
Lord Ronald brought a lily-white doe 

To give his cousin, Lady Clare. 

I trow they did not part in scorn : 

Lovers long-betroth'd were they : 
They two will wed the morrow morn : 

God's blessing on the day ! 

" He does not love me for my birth, 
Nor for my lands so broad and fair ; 

He loves me for my own true worth, 
And that is well," said Lady Clare. 



166 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

In there came old Alice the nurse, 

Said, " Who was this that went from thee ? " 

" It was my cousin, 1 ' said Lady Clare, 
" To-morrow he weds with me." 

" O God be thank'd ! " said Alice the nurse, 
" That all comes round so just and fair : 

Lord Ronald is heir of all your lands, 
And you are not the Lady Clare." 

" Are ye out of your mind, my nurse, my nurse ? " 
Said Lady Clare, "that ye speak so wild?" 

" As God's above," said Alice the nurse, 
" I speak the truth : you are my child. 

" The old Earl's daughter died at my breast ; 

I speak the truth, as I live by bread ! 
I buried her like my own sweet child, 

And put my child in her stead." 

" Falsely, falsely have ye done, 

O mother," she said, " if this be true, 

To keep the best man under the sun 
So many years from his due." 

" Nay, now, my child," said Alice the nurse, 
" But keep the secret for your life, 

And all you have will be Lord Ronald's, 
When you are man and wife." 

"If I'm a beggar born," she said, 
" I will speak out, for I dare not lie. 

Pull off, pull off, the brooch of gold, 
And fling the diamond necklace by." 

"Nay, now, my child," said Alice the nurse, 
" But keep the secret all ye can." 

She said, " Not so : but I will know 
If there be any faith in man." 



CHANGE OF PITCH 167 

" Nay, now, what faith ? " said Alice the nurse 

" The man will cleave unto his right." 
"And he shall have it," the lady replied, 

" Tho' I should die to-night." 

" Yet give one kiss to your mother dear ! 

Alas, my child, I sinn'd for thee." 
" O mother, mother, mother," she said, 

" So strange it seems to me. 

" Yet here's a kiss for my mother dear, 

My mother dear, if this be so, 
And lay your hand upon my head, 

And bless me, mother, ere I go." 

She clad herself in a russet gown, 

She was no longer Lady Clare : 
She went by dale, and she went by down, 

With a single rose in her hair. 

The lily-white doe Lord Ronald had brought 

Leapt up from where she lay, 
Dropt her head in the maiden's hand, 

And follow'd her all the way. 

Down stept Lord Ronald from his tower: 

" O Lady Clare, you shame your worth ! 
Why come you drest like a village maid. 

That are the flower of the earth ? " 

" If I come drest like a village maid, 

I am but as my fortunes are : 
I am a beggar born," she said, 

"And not the Lady Clare." 

" Play me no tricks," said Lord Ronald, 

" For I am yours in word and in deed. 
Play me no tricks," said Lord Ronald, 

" Your riddle is hard to read." 



168 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

O and proudly stood she up ! 

Her heart within her did not fail : 
She look'd into Lord Ronald's eyes, 

And told him all her nurse's tale. 

He laugh'd a laugh of merry scorn : 

He turn'd and kiss'd her where she stood : 

"If you are not the heiress born, 

And I," said he, "the next in blood, — 

" If you are not the heiress born, 

And I," said he, " the lawful heir, 
We two will wed to-morrow morn, 

And you shall still be Lady Clare." 

2. Waves. 

A Wave is the union of two or more concretes. An Inflection 
which rises and falls with one continuous impulse forms a 
Wave, and the extent of this continuity marks its vitality, hence 
it belongs to the Vital division. There are several varieties of 
Waves, designated according to (i) the Number, (2) the Length, 
and (3) the Direction of the slides. The relation of the kinds 
of Waves to the Triune Nature is as follows : 

Single^^ 

Double ^--^Vital 

Continued-'"' 
lV es( Equal ^.^ ) Man 

1 Unequal------ 

Direct. __ 

------, Mental 

Inverted----"""" 

(1) As to Number, showing the continuance of vitality, there 
are three : Single, composed of one upward and one downward 
slide; Double, having three slides; and Continued, having more 
than three slides. All these are here illustrated in the Expul- 
sive Form and Radical Stress, and are used merely to extend 



CHANGE OF PITCH 



169 



the quantity of an Inflection without overstepping the Degree 
of Pitch the sentiment demands. 



a. Single Wave. 



y- 



n n n 

She's a brave girl ! she rules herself. 

u u u 

Well, well, I think so. 



b. Double Wave. 



w 



-&■ 



ru ru 

Poor, poor indeed ! 



c. Continued Wave. 



run 



M 1AJ 



O, he's returned ; and as pleasant as ever he was. 

(2) As to Length, there are two kinds of Waves : Equal ', in 
which the Wave begins and ends on the same Degree of Pitch, 
expressing pleasurable, happy thoughts ; and Unequal, in which 
the slides up and down are of unequal length, conveying dis- 
agreeable or ironical motives. Evidently the Equal and Unequal 
Waves represent the Emotive Nature. 



a. Equal Wave. 



jnj\ n w 



n n n 

When can their glory fade? 

n r\ n 

O, the wild charge they made ! 



b. Unequal Wave. 



?¥ 



-a- 



T 



Has the gentleman done? Has he completely done? 
You, Prince of Wales! You! 



170 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(3) As to Direction there are two varieties : Direct, which ends 
in a falling slide and is therefore conclusive in significance ; 
and Inverted, which ends in an upward slide and is anticipative 
in meaning; both of which belong to the Mental division. 



a. Direct Wave. 



A J] V\ 



n n n 

Ben Hur turned the first goal, and the race was won. 



b. Inverted Wave. 



1J M fl 



I'm sure I'm not more extravagant than a woman ought to be. 
Dare you think me capable of so vile a deed ? 

(4) Vocal Culture of Waves. 

Give e, 00, a, said^ee, do, arm, in 

a. A single, equal, direct wave. c /\ 

b. A single, equal, inverted wave. c ^/ 

c. A single, unequal, direct wave. c/^°^\ 

d. A single, unequal, inverted wave. \/ C \/ 

e. A double, equal, direct wave. v/\ 

f. A double, equal, inverted wave. cJ \j 

g. A double, unequal, direct wave. C \/^ 
h. A double, unequal, inverted wave. oAy 

i. A continued, equal, direct wave. C \/\/\ 

7. A continued, equal, inverted wave. rf\f\J 



CHANGE OF PITCH 171 

Selection for all kinds of Waves. 

Note. Waves may very properly be employed in the utterance of 
the underscored words in the following selection. The kinds of Waves 
to be used may be inferred from the discussion of the subject above. 

WIT AND REPARTEE OF BENEDICK AND 
BEATRICE, FROM "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" 

William Shakespeare 

Beatrice. I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Bene- 
dick: nobody marks you. 

Benedick. What, my dear Lady Disdain ! are you yet living? 

Beat. Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet 
food to feed it as Signior Benedick? Courtesy itself must convert 
to disdain, if you come in her presence. 

Bene. Then is courtesy a turncoat. But it is certain I am loved 
of all ladies, only you excepted : and I would I could find in my 
heart that I had not a hard heart ; for, truly, I love none. 

Beat. A dear happiness to women : they would else have been 
troubled with a pernicious suitor. I thank God and my cold blood, 
I am of your humour for that : I had rather hear my dog bark at 
a crow than a man swear he loves me. 

Bene. God keep your ladyship still in that mind! so some gentle- 
man or other shall 'scape a predestinate scratched face. 

Beat. Scratching could not make it worse, an 'twere such a 
face as yours. 

Bene. Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher. 

Beat. A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours. 

Bene. I would my horse had the speed of your tongue, and so 
good a continuer. But keep your way, i' God's name ; I have done. 

Beat. Will you not tell me who told you so ? 

Bene. No, you shall pardon me. 

Beat. Nor will you not tell me who you are ? 

Bene. Not now. 

Beat. That I was disdainful, and that I had my good wit out. 
of the " Hundred Merry Tales " : well, this was Signior Benedick 
that said so. 



172 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Bene. What's he ? 

Beat. I am sure you know him well enough. 

Bene. Not I, believe me. 

Beat. Did he never make you laugh ? 

Bene. I pray you, what is he ? 

Beat. Why, he is the prince's jester : a very dull fool ; his only 
gift is in devising impossible slanders : none but libertines delight 
in him ; and the commendation is not in his wit, but in his vil- 
lainy ; for he both pleases men and angers them, and then they 
laugh at him and beat him. I am sure he is in the fleet : I would 
he had boarded me. 

Bene. When I know the gentleman, I'll tell him what you say. 

Beat. Do, do : he'll but break a comparison or two on me ; 
which, peradventure not mark'd or not laughed at, strikes him into 
melancholy ; and then there's a partridge wing saved, for the fool 
will eat no supper that night. [Music P\ We must follow the leaders. 

Bene. In every good thing. 

Beat. Nay, if they lead to any ill, I will leave them at the next 
turning. 

3. Intervals. 

By Interval of Pitch is meant the distance between two 
points on the scale. It is. the measure of the space covered by 
a note of speech whose Pitch value is ascertained, not by the 
time given to the note, but by the portion of the compass over \ 
which it passes. 

As the length of the Inflection used gives emotional coloring 
to the utterance, and as the Intervals vary with the intensity 
and character of the emotion, it is clear that this division of 
Pitch is responsive to the Emotive nature. 

There are five relative Intervals of Pitch, — the Semitone, 
the Second, the Third, the Fifth, and the Octave. These are 
the intervals on the musical scale held by musicians to be the 
most agreeable and satisfying to the ear, and which are found 
to be used with hardly less uniformity by the skilled speaker. 
The blendings and shadings of these Intervals is one of the 



CHANGE OF PITCH 173 

most interesting studies in expression. Their relation to the 
Triune nature is shown in the following diagram : 

I Semitones_ 

1 _ _ ~"" --—■-, Emotive 

I Seconds^- —-—" 

Intervals/ Thirds r_V_~^Mental ) Man 

I Fifths.-"'"" 

— — .Vital 
^ Octaves - 

(1) The Semitone. 

The Semitone is a slide of the voice over a half interval of 
the musical scale. It is the shortest but not the least impor- 
tant of the Intervals. It is heard in the plaintive notes of the 
dove, the whimpering and complaining of children, and the ten- 
.der and pitying tones of the mother who is quieting her child. 
A very few Semitones will add a tinge of pathos to language. 

In expression the Semitone is used in the utterance of 
pathos, sadness, plaintiveness, te?iderness, pity, grief. 

Selection illustrating the Semitone. 

Note. Read the following selection with the understanding that 
only the words most expressive of the sentiments named in the discus- 
sion should be given with the Semitone. It will be found that the 
Interval of the Second is often blended with this element in the expres- 
sion of solemnity and pathos. 

THE BLACKSMITH'S STORY 

Frank Olive 

Well, no ! My wife ain't dead, sir, but I've lost her all the same; 

She left me voluntarily, and neither was to blame. 

It's rather a queer story, and I think you will agree — 

When you hear the circumstances — 'twas rather rough on me. 

She was a soldier's widow. He was kill'd at Malvern Hill ; 
And when I married her she seem'd to sorrow for him still ; 
But I brought her here to Kansas, and I never want to see 
A better wife than Mary was for five bright years to me. 



IJ4 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

The change of scene brought cheerfulness, and soon a rosy glow 
Of happiness warm'd Mary's cheeks and melted all their snow. 
I think she loved me some. — I'm bound to think that of her, sir : 
And as for me, — I can't begin to tell how I loved her ! 

Three years ago the baby came our humble home to bless : 
And then I reckon I was nigh to perfect happiness ; 
'Twas hers, — 'twas mine ; but I've no language to explain to you, 
How that little girl's weak fingers our hearts together drew ! 

Once we watch'd it through a fever, and with each gasping breath, 
Dumb with an awful, wordless woe, we waited for its death ; 
And, though I'm not a pious man, our souls together there, 

For Heaven to spare our darling, went up in voiceless prayer. 

And. when the doctor said 'twould live, our joy what words could 

tell ? 
Clasp'd in each other's arms, our grateful tears together fell. 
Sometimes, you see, the shadow fell across our little nest, 
But it only made the sunshine seem a doubly welcome guest. 

Work came to me a plenty, and I kept the anvil ringing ; 
Early and late you'd find me there a-hammering and singing : 
Love nerved my arm to labor, and moved my tongue to song, 
And, though my singing wasn't sweet, it was tremendous strong ! 

One day a one-arm'd stranger stopp'd to have me nail a shoe, 

And, while I was at work, we pass'd a compliment or two : 

I ask'd him how he lost his arm. He said 'twas shot away 

At Malvern Hill. " Malvern Hill ! Did you know Robert May ? '" 

"That's me." said he. "You, you !" I gasp'd, choking with hor- 
rid doubt : 
" If you're the man, just follow me : we'll try this mystery out ! " 
With dizzy steps, I led him to Man*. God ! 'Twas true ! 
Then the bitterest pangs of misery, unspeakable, I knew. 

Frozen with deadly horror, she stared with eyes of stone, 

And from her quivering lips there broke one wild, despairing moan. 



CHANGE OF PITCH 175- 

'Twas he ! the husband of her youth, now risen from the dead, 
But all too late ; and, with bitter cry, her senses fled. 

What could be done ? He was reported dead. On his return 
He strove in vain some tidings of his absent wife to learn. 
'Twas well that he was innocent ! Else I'd have kill'd him, too, 
So dead he never would have ris'n till Gabriel's trumpet blew ! 

It was agreed that Mary then between us should decide, 
And each by her decision would sacredly abide. 
No sinner, at the judgment seat, waiting eternal doom, 
Could suffer what I did, while waiting sentence in that room. 

Rigid and breathless, there we stood, with nerves as tense as steel, 
While Mary's eyes sought each white face, in piteous appeal. 
God ! could not woman's duty be less hardly reconciled 
Between her lawful husband and the father of her child ? 

Ah, how my heart was chill'd to ice, when she knelt down and 

said, — 
" Forgive me, John ! ' He is my husband ! Here ! Alive ! not dead ! " 
I raised her tenderly, and tried to tell her she was right, 
But somehow, in my aching breast, the prison'd words stuck tight ! 

" But, John, I can't leave baby." — " What ! wife and child ! " 

cried I; 
" Must I yield all ! Ah, cruel fate ! Better that I should die. 
Think of the long, sad, lonely hours, waiting in gloom for me, — 
No wife to cheer me with her love, — no babe to climb my knee ! 

"And yet — you are her mother, and the sacred mother love 
Is still the purest, tenderest tie that Heaven ever wove. 
Take her; but promise, Mary, — for that will bring no shame, — 
My little girl shall bear, and learn to lisp, her father's nanie !" 

It may be, in the life to come, I'll meet my child and wife ; 
But yonder, by my cottage gate, we parted for this life ; 
One long hand clasp from Mary, and my dream of love was done ! 
One long embrace from baby, and my happiness was gone ! 



176 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(2) The Second. 

The Second is a slide of the voice over a whole interval of 
Pitch, including two notes of the musical scale. It is heard in 
connection with Effusive Form in the chant of church serv- 
ice, the solemn tones of the pipe organ, the distant roar of 
Niagara; and with Expulsive Form in the unaccented and 
unemphatic syllables of ordinary conversation. 

As an element of expression the Second is most used in 
the utterance of reverence, devotion, sublimity, majesty, awe, 
and despair. 

Selection illustrating the Second. 

Note. In reading the following selection the student will occasion- 
ally employ Semitones and Thirds in the blends necessary to correct 
expression. 

DARKNESS 

Lord Byron 

I had a dream, which was not all a dream. 

The bright sun was extinguish 'd, and the stars 

Did wander darkling in the eternal space, 

Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth 

Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air ; 

Morn came and went — and came, and brought no day, 

And men forgot their passions in the dread 

Of this their desolation ; and all hearts 

Were chill'd into a selfish prayer for light. 

And they did live by watch fires — and the thrones, 

The palaces of crowned kings, the huts, 

The habitations of all things which dwell, 

Were burnt for beacons ; cities were consumed, 

And men were gather'd round their blazing homes 

To look once more into each other's face. 

Happy were those who dwelt within the eye 

Of the volcanoes, and their mountain torch: 

A fearful hope was all the world contain'd ; 



CHANGE OF PITCH 177 

Forests were set on fire — but hour by hour 

They fell and faded — and the crackling trunks 

Extinguish'd with a crash — and all was black. 

The brows of men by the despairing light 

Wore an unearthly aspect, as by fits 

The flashes fell upon them ; some lay down 

And hid their eyes and wept ; and some did rest 

Their chins upon their clenched hands, and smiled ; 

And others hurried to and fro, and fed 

Their funeral piles with fuel, and look'd up 

With mad disquietude on the dull sky, 

The pall of a past world ; and then again 

With curses cast them down upon the dust, 

And gnash'd their teeth and howl'd. The wild birds shriek'd, 

And, terrified, did flutter on the ground, 

And flap their useless wings ; the wildest brutes 

Came tame and tremulous ; and vipers crawl'd 

And twined themselves among the multitude, 

Hissing, but stingless — they were slain for food. 

And War, which for a moment was no more, 

Did glut himself again ; — a meal was bought 

With blood, and each sat sullenly apart 

Gorging himself in gloom. No love was left ; 

All earth was but one thought — and that was death, 

Immediate and inglorious ; and the pang 

Of famine fed upon all entrails — men 

Died, and their bones were tombless as their flesh : 

The meagre by the meagre were devour'd, 

Even dogs assail'd their masters, all save one, 

And he was faithful to a corse, and kept 

The birds and beasts and famish'd men at bay, 

Till hunger clung them, or the dropping dead 

Lured their lank jaws. Himself sought out no food. 

But, with a piteous and perpetual moan, 

And a quick desolate cry, licking the hand 

Which answer'd not with a caress — he died. 

The crowd was famish'd by degrees ; but two 



1/8 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Of an enormous city did survive, 

And they were enemies. They met beside 

The dying embers of an altar-place, 

Where had been heap'd a mass of holy things 

For an unholy usage ; they raked up, 

And shivering scraped with their cold skeleton hands 

The feeble ashes, and their feeble breath 

Blew for a little life, and made a flame 

Which was a mockery. Then they lifted up 

Their eyes as it grew lighter, and beheld 

Each other's aspects — saw, and shriek'd, and died — 

Even of their mutual hideousness they died, 

Unknowing who he was upon whose brow 

Famine had written Fiend. The world was void, 

The populous and the powerful was a lump, 

Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless — 

A lump of death — a chaos of hard clay. 

The rivers, lakes, and ocean all stood still, 

And nothing stirr 'd within their silent depths ; 

Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea, 

And their masts fell down piecemeal ; as they dropp'd 

They slept on the abyss without a surge — 

The waves were dead ; the tides were in their grave, 

The Moon, their mistress, had expired before ; 

The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air, 

And the clouds perish'd ; Darkness had no need 

Of aid from them — She was the Universe. 

(3) The Third. 

The Third is a slide of the voice over two whole intervals 
of Pitch, including three notes of the musical scale. It is the 
Interval most common in nature and in the communications 
of everyday * life. It gives character and distinction to the 
accented and emphatic syllables of ordinary discourse. 

Thirds are used to express conversation, wit, playfulness, 
argumentation, description, oratorical thought. 



CHANGE OF PITCH 179 

Selection illustrating the Third. 

Note. While the Interval of the Third predominates in the reading 
of the following illustration, the Second will occur in unimportant syl- 
lables, and occasionally a Fifth in very emphatic syllables. Remember 
there is a constant blending of these three Intervals in expression. 

THE UNIVERSITY THE TRAINING CAMP 
Henry W. Grady 

We are standing in the daybreak of the second century of this 
Republic. The fixed stars are fading from the sky, and we grope 
in uncertain light. The unrest of dawn impels us to and fro, but 
Doubt stalks amid the confusion, and even on the beaten paths 
the shifting crowds are halted, and from the shadows the sentries 
cry : " Who comes there ? " 

Nothing is steadfast or approved. The church is besieged from 
without and betrayed from within. Behind the courts smoulders 
the rioter's torch and looms the gibbet of the anarchists. Trade is 
restless in the grasp of monopoly, and commerce shackled with 
limitation. The cities are swollen, and the fields are stripped. 
Splendor streams from the castle, and squalor crouches in the 
home. The universal brotherhood is dissolving, and the people 
are huddling into classes. The hiss of the Nihilist disturbs the 
covert, and the roar of the mob murmurs along the highway. 
Amid it all beats the great American heart, undismayed ; and, 
standing fast by the challenge of his conscience, the citizen of the 
Republic, tranquil and resolute, notes the drifting of the spectral 
currents and calmly awaits the full disclosures of the day. 

Who shall be the heralds of the coming day ? Who shall thread 
the way of honor and safety through these besetting problems? 
You, my countrymen, you ! The university is the training camp 
of the future ; the scholar, the champion of the coming years. 
Napoleon overran Europe with drum-tap and bivouac; the next 
Napoleon shall form his battalions at the tap of the schoolhouse 
bell, and his captains shall come with cap and gown. Waterloo 
was won at Oxford ; Sedan at Berlin. So Germany plants her 
colleges in the shadow of the French forts, and the professor 



180 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

smiles amid his students as he notes the sentinel stalking against 
the sky. The farmer has learned that brains mix better with his 
soil than the waste of seabirds. A button is pressed by a child's 
finger and the work of a million men is done. The hand is nothing ; 
the brain everything. 

Physical prowess has had its day, and the age of reason has 
come. The lion-hearted Richard challenging Saladin to single 
combat is absurd. Science is everything ! She draws Boston within 
three hours of New York, renews the famished soil, routs her 
viewless bondsmen from the electric center of the earth, and then 
turns to watch the new Icarus as, mounting in his flight to the 
sun, he darkens the burnished ceiling of the sky with the shadow 
of his wing. 

Learning is supreme, and you are its prophets. Here the Olym- 
pic games of the Republic — and you are its chosen athletes. It 
is yours, then, to grapple with these problems, to confront and 
master these dangers. Yours to decide whether the tremendous 
forces of this Republic shall be kept in balance, or whether, 
unbalanced, they shall bring chaos ; whether sixty million men 
are capable of self-government, or whether liberty shall be lost to 
them who would give their lives to maintain it. Your responsibility 
is appalling. You stand in the pass behind which the world's lib- 
erties are guarded. 

This government carries the hopes of the human race. Blot out 
the beacon that lights the portals of this Republic, and the world 
is adrift again. But save the Republic, establish the light of its 
beacon over the troubled waters, and one by one the nations of the 
earth shall drop anchor and be at rest in the harbor of universal 
liberty. 

(4) The Fifth. 

The Fifth is the slide of the voice through five notes of the 
musical scale. It is heard less frequently than the Interval of 
the Third, but is inseparable from it in strong emphasis and 
interrogation, in the laughter and delight of children, in the 
exultant or indignant outbursts of the orator, and in the ex- 
pression of other strong feeling. 



CHANGE OF PITCH l8l 

Fifths are used in the utterance of joy, delight, anger, sur- 
prise, defiance, lofty command, and earnest interrogation. 

Selection illustrating the Fifth. 

Note. In the following selection only those words or phrases which 
embody the sentiments named above, or other equally strong emotions, 
require the Fifth. A few such inflections will give character to the 
whole expression. 

THE SUN OF LIBERTY 
Victor Hugo 

We are in Russia. The Neva is frozen. They build houses on 
it ; heavy carriages roll on its surface. It is no longer water; it is 
rock. The passers-by go and come on this marble which has been 
a river ; they improvise a city ; they trace out the streets ; they 
open the shops ; they sell, they buy, they drink ; they eat, they 
sleep, they light fires on this water. They can permit themselves 
anything. Fear nothing, do what they please, laugh, dance — it is 
more solid than dry land. It actually sounds under the foot like 
granite. Long live winter ! Long live ice ! There is ice, and it 
shall stand forever. And look at the heavens ! Is it day? Is it 
night ? A gleam, wan and pale, crawls over the snow. One would 
say that the sun is dead. 

No ; thou art not dead, Liberty. On a day, and at the moment 
when they least expect it, at the hour when they had most pro- 
foundly forgotten thee, thou shalt arise. O dazzling sight! One 
will see thy starlike face suddenly come out from the earth and 
shine on the horizon. On all this snow, this ice, this hard, white 
plain, on this water-become block, thou shalt dart thy golden arrow, 
thy bright and burning ray, thy light, thy heat, thy life. And then ! 
do you hear that dull sound ? Do you hear that cracking, deep and 
dreadful? It is the breaking of the ice ! It is the Neva which is 
tearing loose ! It is the river which retakes its course ! 

It is truth, which is coming again. It is progress, which 
recommences. It is humanity, which again begins its march, 
which drifts full of fragments, which draws away, roots out, car- 
ries off, strikes together, mingles, crushes, and drowns in its w r aves, 



182 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

like the poor, miserable furniture of a ruin, not only the upstart 
empire of Louis Bonaparte, but all the establishments and all the 
results of ancient and eternal despotism. Look at all this pass by. 
It is disappearing forever. You will never see it more. See that 
book half sunk ; it is the old code of iniquity. That trestlework 
which has just been swallowed up is the throne ! And this other 
trestlework which is going off, it is — the scaffold! And for this 
immense engulfing, and for this supreme victory of life over death, 
what has been the power necessary ? One of thy looks, O Sun ! 
One of thy rays, O Liberty ! 

(5) The Octave. 

The Octave is the slide of voice through eight notes of the 
scale. Many utterances which may be placed in this class fall 
a little short of the Octave, while others overrun it, but the 
Interval is relatively the Octave. It is heard in nature in the 
peal of thunder, the crash of cannon, and the exclamations of 
intense feeling heard among all peoples. 

In expression the Octave is employed in the utterance of 
astonishment, inte?ise fear, exultatio?i, impassioned exclamation, 
and interrogation. 

Selection illustrating the Octave. 

Note. The Octave is the least common of the Intervals, and is 
heard in dramatic expression in which the Interval of the Fifth plays 
quite as important a part. Only the most intense exclamations of feel- 
ing should be given in this wide Interval. 

SHYLOCK'S RAGE FROM "THE MERCHANT 
OF VENICE" 

William Shakespeare 
Enter Shylock, Salanio, and Salarino 

Salanio. How now, Shylock ! what news among the merchants? 
Shylock. You knew, none so well, none so well as you, of my 
daughter's flight. 



CHANGE OF PITCH 183 

Salarino. That's certain: I, for my part, knew the tailor that 
made the wings she flew withal. 

Salan. And Shylock, for his own part, knew the bird was 
fledged ; and then it is the complexion of them all to leave the 
dam. 

Shy. She is damned for it. 

Salar. That's certain, if the devil may be her judge. 

Shy. My own flesh and blood to rebel ! 

Salan. Out upon it, old carrion ! rebels it at these years ? 

Shy. I say, my daughter is my flesh and blood. 

Salar. There is more difference between thy flesh and hers 
than between jet and ivory; more between your bloods than there 
is between red wine and rhenish. But tell us, do you hear whether 
Antonio have had any loss at sea or no ? 

Shy. There I have another bad match : a bankrupt, a prodigal, 
who dare scarce show his head on the Rialto ; a beggar, that was 
used to come so smug upon the mart ; let him look to his bond : 
he was wont to call me usurer ; let him look to his bond : he was 
wont to lend money for a Christian courtesy ; let him look to 
his bond. 

Salar. Why, I am sure, if he forfeit, thou wilt not take his 
flesh : what's that good for ? 

Shy. To bait fish withal: if it will feed nothing else, it will 
feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hindered me half 
a million ; laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned 
my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my friends, heated mine 
enemies ; and what's his reason ? I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew 
eyes ? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, 
passions ? fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, 
subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed 
and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is ? 
If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not 
laugh ? if you poison us, do we not die ? and if you wrong us, 
shall we not revenge ? If we are like you in the rest, we will 
resemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his 
humility? Revenge. If a Christian wrong a Jew, what should his 
sufferance be by Christian example ? Why, revenge. The villany 



1 84 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

you teach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but I will better 
the instruction. 

Enter Tubal 

Salan. Here comes another of the tribe : a third cannot be 
matched, unless the devil himself turn Jew. 

{Exeunt Salan. and Salar. 

Shy. How now, Tubal! what news from Genoa? hast thou 
found my daughter ? 

Tub. I often came where I did hear of her, but cannot find her. 

Shy. Why, there, there, there, there ! a diamond gone, cost me 
two thousand ducats in Frankfort ! The curse never fell upon 
our nation till now ; I never felt it till now : two thousand ducats 
in that ; and other precious, precious jewels. I would my daughter 
were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear ! would she were 
hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin ! No news of 
them ? Why, so: and I know not what's spent in the search: why, 
thou loss upon loss ! the thief gone with so much, and so much 
to find the thief; and no satisfaction, no revenge: nor no ill luck 
stirring but what lights on my shoulders ; no sighs but of my 
breathing ; no tears but of my shedding. 

Tub. Yes, other men have ill luck too: Antonio, as I heard in 
Genoa, — 

Shy. What, what, what? ill luck, ill luck? 

Tub. Hath an argosy cast away, coming from Tripolis. 

Shy. I thank God, I thank God ! Is't true, is't true ? 

Tub. I spoke with some of the sailors that escaped the wreck. 

Shy. I thank thee, good Tubal : good news, good news ! ha, 
ha ! where ? in Genoa ? 

Tub. Your daughter spent in Genoa, as I heard, in one night 
fourscore ducats. 

Shy. Thou stickest a dagger in me : I shall never see my gold 
again : fourscore ducats at a sitting ! fourscore ducats ! 

Tub. There came divers of Antonio's creditors in my company 
to Venice, that swear he cannot choose but break. 

Shy. I am very glad of it: I'll plague him; I'll torture him: 
I am glad of it. 



CHANGE OF PITCH 185 

Tub. One of them showed me a ring that he had of your 
daughter for a monkey. 

Shy. Out upon her ! Thou torturest me, Tubal : it was my 
turquoise ; I had it of Leah when I was a bachelor: I would not 
have given it for a wilderness of monkeys. 

Tub. But Antonio is certainly undone. 

Shy. Nay, that's true, that's very true. Go, Tubal, fee me an 
officer ; bespeak him a fortnight before. I will have the heart of 
him, if he forfeit ; for, were he out of Venice, I can make what 
merchandise I will. Go, go, Tubal, and meet me at our synagogue ; 
go, good Tubal ; at our synagogue, Tubal. \_Exeunt. 

(6) Vocal culture of Intervals. 

a. Sing a, a, o up and down the musical scale by the Inter- 
vals do, mi, sol, do. 

b. Speak the sounds a, e, 1, 6, u up and down alternately in 
slides of the Semitone ; then in Seconds, Thirds, Fifths, and 
Octaves respectively. 

c. Do the same with the words all, arm, isle, our, roll. 

Selection used to illustrate all the Intervals. 

Note. The great variety of sentiment and passion in the following 
scene gives ample opportunity for the study and application of the five 
Intervals of Pitch. To summarize, keep in mind that the Semitone is 
the pathetic Interval ; the Second, the solemn Interval ; the Third, the 
conversational Interval; the Fifth, the joyous Interval; and the Octave, 
the exclamatory Interval. 

PROTESTATIONS OF LOVE FROM "MUCH ADO 
ABOUT NOTHING" 

William Shakespeare 

Messina. The Inside of a Church. Lady Hero is falsely accused 

Enter Benedick and Beatrice 

Benedick. Lady Beatrice, have you wept all this while ? 
Beatrice. Yea, and I will weep awhile longer. 
Bene. I will not desire that, 



186 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Beat. You have no reason ; I do it freely. 

Bene. Surely I do believe your fair cousin is wronged. 

Beat. Ah, how much might the man deserve of me that would 
right her ! 

Bene. Is there any way to show such friendship ? 

Beat. A very even way, but no such friend. 

Bene. May a man do it ? 

Beat. It is a man's office, but not yours. 

Beiie. I do love nothing in the world so well as you : is not 
that strange ? 

Beat. As strange as the thing I know not. It were as possible 
for me to say I loved nothing so well as you : but believe me not ; 
and yet I lie not ; I confess nothing, nor I deny nothing. I am 
sorry for my cousin. 

Be?ie. By my sword, Beatrice, thou lovest me. 

Beat. Do not swear by it, and eat it. 

Bene. I will swear by it that you love me ; and I will make 
him eat it that says I love not you. 

Beat. Will you not eat your word ? 

Bene. With no sauce that can be devised to it. I protest I 
love thee. 

Beat. Why, then, God forgive me ! 

Bene. What offence, sweet Beatrice ? 

Beat. You have stayed me in a happy hour : I was about to 
protest I loved you. 

Bene. And do it with all thy heart. 

Beat. I love you with so much of my heart that none is left 
to protest. 

Bene. Come, bid me do any thing for thee. 

Beat. Kill Claudio. 

Bene. Ha ! not for the wide world. 

Beat. You kill me to deny it. Farewell. 

Bene. Tarry, sweet Beatrice. 

Beat. I am gone, though I am here : there is no love in you : 
nay, I pray you, let me go. 

Bene. Beatrice, — 

Beat, In faith, I will go. 



CHANGE OF PITCH 187 

Bene. We'll be friends first. 

Beat. You dare easier be friends with me than fight with mine 
enemy. 

Bene. Is Claudio thine enemy ? 

Beat. Is he not approved in the height a villain, that hath 
slandered, scorned, dishonoured my. kinswoman ? O that I were a 
man ! What, bear her in hand until they come to take hands ; and 
then, with public accusation, uncovered slander, unmitigated ran- 
cour, — O God, that I were a man ! I would eat his heart in the 
market-place. 

Bene. Hear me, Beatrice,— 

Beat. Talk with a man out at a window ! A proper saying ! 

Bene. Nay, but, Beatrice, — 

Beat. Sweet Hero ! She is wronged, she is slandered, she is 
undone. 

Bene. Beat — 

Beat. Princes and counties ! Surely, a princely testimony, a 
goodly count, Count Confect ; a sweet gallant, surely ! O that I 
were a man for his sake ! or that I had any friend would be a man 
for my sake ! But manhood is melted into courtesies, valour into 
compliment, and men are only turned into tongue, and trim ones 
too : he is now as valiant as Hercules that only tells a lie, and 
swears it. I cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a 
woman with grieving. 

Btne. Tarry, good Beatrice. By this hand I love thee. 

Beat. Use it for my love some other way than swearing by it. 

Bene. Think you in your soul the Count Claudio hath wronged 
Hero? 

Beat. Yea, as sure as I have a thought or a soul. 

Bene. Enough, I am engaged; I will challenge him. I will kiss 
your hand, and so leave you. By this hand, Claudio shall render 
me a dear account. As you hear of me, so think of me. Go, com- 
fort your cousin : I must say she is dead : and so, farewell. 

\Exeunt. 



188 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

SECTION III. MELODY 

Melody is the succession or trend of speech notes on the 
scale of Pitch. Spoken Melody does not necessarily signify a 
pleasing succession of tones as in music ; but it is the vital, 
vocal placing of notes of various Qualities, Forms, Degrees of 
Force, Stresses, (Ranges of Pitch, and rates of Time in harsh 
as well as pleasing succession. The speaker composes and 
delivers his melody at the same time, and he should have as 
many varieties in Melody as he has emotions. The difficulty 
with many speakers and readers is that they have so few Mel- 
odies in which to express themselves. It behooves the student 
to so train his voice in Melody that his delivery will not be 
monotonous. 

Melody is composed of two parts, — (i) Curre?it, and 
(2) Cadence ■, which may be likened to the current of a stream, 
and its fall into a lake when it ceases to be a stream. Every 
complete sentence we utter has a current of speech notes and 
a cadence of plunging down in Pitch to close the sense. 

1 . Current Melody is the succession of notes in the body of 
the sentence. If any considerable number of successive speech 
notes are begun on the same Degree of Pitch, however they 
may be inflected, a monotone is produced such as is heard in 
counting, calling a list of names, in the perfunctory reading of 
some legal document, or in the utterance of some supposed 
supernatural being, such as the ghost in the play of Hamlet 
or Julius Ccesar. If the range of Melody is too limited for the 
thoughts expressed, the utterance becomes monotonous, and 
monotony is the bete noir of the reader or speaker. If, on the 
other hand, the notes are varied too much for a given senti- 
ment, an unstable, flippant effect is produced. For example, 
if we read the sublime words of the Psalmist, "The earth is 
the Lord's and the fulness thereof," with wide intervals and 
sweeping inflections, the dignity and sublimity of the passage 
is destroyed. 



MELODY 189 

There are three kinds of Current Melody corresponding 

to man's triune nature, and expressive of his entire range 

of thought and feeling, — (1) Chromatic, (2) Diatonic, and 

(3) Broken, Their relation to the triune nature is shown as 

follows : 

„ f Chromatic . . . Emotivel 

Current I . . ,, M I „ 

' Diatonic .... Mental J> Man 



Melody 1 



Broken .... Vital J 



(1) Chromatic Melody is made up of inflections and waves 
which run through Semitonic and other minor intervals of the 
musical scale. It is largely composed of Semitones and minor 
Thirds and may occur on any degree. of Pitch. We have seen 
that Semitones respond to the Emotive nature of man ; hence 
Chromatic Melody, composed so largely of Semitones, belongs 
to the Emotive division and is the medium of expression for 
sad emotions, plaintiveness, tenderness, pity, sorrow, and wailing. 

(2) Diatonic Melody is composed of inflections and waves 
made through Intervals of Seconds and Thirds, and represents 
the Mental nature already explained. It is used to express 
the ordinary and lively thoughts such as conversation, didactic 
thought, gladness, delight, grandeur, and oratorical fervor. 

(3) Broken Melody is composed of inflections and waves of 
wider slides and more broken changes of Pitch through the 
Intervals of Fifths and Octaves. As it manifests great vitality 
and energy, it clearly represents the Vital nature of man and is 
used to express his more dramatic and impassioned conditions, 
such as ecstatic joy, triumph, oratorical invective, amazement, 
alarm, and rage. 

Selection illustrating Current Melody. 

Note. In reading the following selection the student should strive 
for a pleasing variety in the arrangement of speech notes. As monotony 
shows lack of interest on the part of the speaker and destroys interest 
on the part of the audience, every effort should be made to acquire 
spirit and sprightliness of Current Melody. 



190 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

THE NEW SOUTH 
Henry W. Grady 

A master hand has drawn for you the picture of your returning 
armies. You have been told how, in the pomp and circumstance 
of war, they came back to you, marching with proud and victo- 
rious tread, reading their glory in a nation's eyes ! Will you bear 
with me while I tell you of another army that sought its home at 
the close of the late war, — an army that marched home in defeat 
and not in victory, in pathos and not in splendor, but in glory that 
equaled yours, and to hearts as loving as ever welcomed heroes 
home. 

Let me picture to you the footsore Confederate soldier, as, but- 
toning up in his faded gray jacket the parole which was to bear 
testimony to his children of his fidelity and faith, he turned his face 
southward from Appomattox in April, 1865. Think of him as, 
ragged, half-starved, heavy-hearted, enfeebled by want and wounds; 
having fought to exhaustion, he surrenders his gun, wrings the 
hands of his comrades in silence, and, lifting his tear-stained and 
pallid face for the last time to the graves that dot old Virginia 
hills, pulls his gray cap over his brow and begins the slow and 
painful journey. 

What does he find — let me ask you — what does he find when, 
having followed the battle-stained cross against overwhelming 
odds, dreading death not half so much as surrender, he reaches the 
home he left so prosperous and beautiful ? He finds his house in 
ruins, his farm devastated, his slaves free, his stock killed, his 
barns empty, his trade destroyed, his money worthless, his social 
system, feudal in its magnificence, swept away, his people without 
law or legal status, his comrades slain, and the burdens of others 
heavy on his shoulders. Crushed by defeat, his very traditions are 
gone. Without money, credit, employment, material, or training, 
and, beside all this, confronted with the gravest problem that ever 
met human intelligence, — the establishing of a status for the vast 
body of his liberated slaves. 

What does he do, this hero in gray with a heart of gold? Does he 
sit down in sullenness and despair ? Not for a day. Surely God, who 



MELODY 191 

had stripped him of his prosperity, inspired him in his adversity. 
As ruin was never before so overwhelming, never was restoration 
swifter. The soldier stepped from the trenches into the furrow ; 
horses that had charged Federal guns marched before the plow ; 
and fields that ran red with human blood in April were green with 
the harvest in June. 

But what is the sum of our work ? We have found out that the 
free negro counts more than he did as a slave. We have planted 
the schoolhouse on the hilltop, and made it free to white and black. 
We have sowed towns and cities in the place of theories, and put 
business above politics. 

The new South is enamored of her new work. Her soul is stirred 
with the breath of a new life. The light of a grander day is falling 
fair on her face. She is thrilling with the consciousness of, growing 
power and prosperity. As she stands upright, full statured and 
equal, among the people of the earth, breathing the keen air and 
looking out upon the expanded horizon, she understands that her 
emancipation came because, through the inscrutable wisdom of 
God, her honest purpose was crossed and her brave armies were 
beaten. 

The South has nothing for which to apologize. I should be 
unjust to the dauntless spirit of the South and to my own convic- 
tions if I did not make this plain in this presence. The South has 
nothing to take back. In my native town of Athens is a monument 
that crowns its central hill — a plain white shaft. Deep cut into 
its shining side is a name dear to me above the names of men — 
that of a brave and simple man who died in a brave and simple 
faith. Not for all the glories of New England, from Plymouth 
Rock all the way, would I exchange the heritage he left me in 
his soldier's death. To the foot of that I shall send my chil- 
dren's children to reverence him who ennobled their name with his 
heroic blood. 

But, sir, speaking from the shadow of that memory which I 
honor as I do nothing else on earth, I say that the cause in which 
he suffered and for which he gave his life was adjudged by higher 
and fuller wisdom than his or mine, and I am glad that the omnis- 
cient God held the balance of battle in his almighty hand, that 



192 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

human slavery was swept forever from American soil, and that 
the American Union was saved from the wreck of war. 

Now, what answer has New England to this message ? Will she 
withhold, save in strained courtesy, the hand which, straight from 
his soldier's heart, Grant offered to Lee at Appomattox ? Will she 
make the vision of a restored and happy people — which gathered 
above the couch of your dying captain, filling his heart with grace, 
touching his lips with praise, and glorifying his path to the grave 
— will she make this vision, on which the last sigh of his expiring 
soul breathed a benediction, a cheat and a delusion ? If she does, 
the South, never abject in asking for comradeship, must accept 
with dignity its refusal ; but if she does not refuse to accept in 
frankness and sincerity this message of good will and friendship, 
then will the prophecy of Webster, delivered in this very society 
forty years ago amid tremendous applause, be verified in its fullest 
sense when he said : " Standing hand to hand and clasping hands, 
we should remain united as we have been for sixty years, citizens 
of the same country, members of the same government, united, all 
united now and united forever." 

2 . Cadence is that part of Melody which marks the close of 
a sentence when the thought is complete. It consists of one 
or as many as five downward slides or steps, the last of which 
must be a Falling Inflection. It must reach the line of repose, 
and satisfy the ear with the sense of completed thought. 
Cadence is easily detected. Count "twenty" by fives, pausing 
after five, ten, and fifteen, with lowered Pitch and Rising Inflec- 
tion on the last syllable, and then end with the utterance of 
"twenty" with a positive Falling Inflection and the complete 
sense is fully realized. The distance of this fall of voice is 
relative, and is dependent upon the gentleness or turbulence 
of the Current Melody preceding it ; the more varied the Cur- 
rent the deeper the plunge of notes in the Cadence. 

There are five Cadences : (i) the Monad, in which there is 
but one syllable ; (2) the Duad, in which there are two ; (3) the 
Triad, in which there are three ; (4) the Tetrad, in which there 



MELODY 



193 



are four ; and (5) the Pentad, in which there are five syllables. 
There are two varieties each of Duads and Triads. The use of 
the Cadence is determined by the accent and emphasis of the 
syllables composing the closing words of the sentence, as in- 
dicated by the heavier shaded notes in the following cuts : 

Monad Duad Triad 



V 



^=^ 



J 



^ 



J- 



\ 



*X 



^_ 



S_ 



First 



Second 



Rising 



Falling 



Tetrad 



Pentad 



"V 



^_ 



_^_ 



-^ 



_^ 



■^ 



^L 



(1) The Monad. 

The Monad is used when the last syllable of the closing 
word is strongly emphatic, or when the sentence ends in a very 
emphatic monosyllable. 

My answer would be a blow. 

(2) The Duad. 

a. The First Duad. is used when the next to the last syllable 
of the sentence is accented. 

They all fired at ran - dom. 

b. The Second Duad is used when the last syllable of the 
sentence is moderately strong. 

Let me not hinder, Cassius, your de - sire. 

(3) The Triad. 

a. The Rising Triad is used when the last three syllables 
are about equally emphatic. 

Ah, good painter, you can' 7 paint sound 7 



194 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

b. The Falling Triad is used when the second from the last 
syllable of the sentence is accented. 

The feast was boun - ti - ful. 

(4) The Tetrad is used when the third from the last syl- 
lable of the sentence is accented. 

The work was done beau - ti - ful - ly. 

(5) The Pentad is used when the fourth from the last syllable 
of the sentence is accented. 

He was prompted by pure dis - in - ter - est - ed - ness. 

FAULTS OF CADENCE 

In practicing Cadence students are cautioned against the 
following defects : 

a. Dropping the voice too suddenly at the close of the 
sentence, 

b. Allowing the voice to rise on the last syllable, 

c. Giving the last syllable with a note of song, 

(The last two are called "preacher's cadences.") 

d. Turning plain discourse into pathos by using the slide of 
the semitone on the last note, and 

e. Making Cadence where the thought is not complete, as is 
often the case in reading poetry. 

Selection illustrating Cadence. 

Note. Determine its class and execute each of the Cadences in the 
following selection. Strive for a positive and satisfactory close to each 
sentence where a cadence is required. 

THE NATIONAL FLAG 

Henry Ward Beecher 

A thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation's flag, sees not the 
flag, but the nation itself. When the French tricolor rolls out to the 
wind, we see France. When the new-found Italian flag is unfurled, 



MELODY 195 

we see unified Italy. When the united crosses of St. Andrew 
and St. George, on a fiery ground, set forth the banner of old Eng- 
land, we see not the cloth merely ; there rises up before the mind 
the idea of that great monarchy. 

This nation has a banner, too; and wherever this flag comes, and 
men behold it, they see in its sacred emblazonry no ramping lion 
and no fierce eagle, no embattled castles or insignia of imperial 
authority ; they see the symbols of light. It is the banner of dawn. 
It means liberty; and the galley slave, the poor, oppressed conscript, 
the trodden-down creature of foreign despotism, sees in the Amer- 
ican flag the very promise of God. 

If one, then, asks me the meaning of our flag, I say to him : It 
means just what Concord and Lexington meant, what Bunker Hill 
meant. It means the whole glorious Revolutionary War. It means 
all that the Declaration of Independence meant. It means all that 
the Constitution of our people, organizing for justice, for liberty, 
and for happiness, meant. 

Our flag carries American ideas, American history, and Amer- 
ican feelings. Beginning with the colonies, and coming down to 
our time, in its sacred heraldry, in its glorious insignia, it has gath- 
ered and stored chiefly this supreme idea : divine right of liberty 
in man. Every color means liberty ; every thread means liberty ; 
every form of star and beam or stripe of light means liberty — not 
lawlessness, not license, but organized, institutional liberty — liberty 
through law, and laws for liberty ! 

This American flag was the safeguard of liberty. Not an atom 
of crown was allowed to go into its insignia. Not a symbol of 
authority in the ruler was permitted to go into it. It was an ordinance 
of liberty by the people for the people. That it meant, that it 
means, and, by the blessing of God, that it shall mean to the end 
of time ! 

Under this banner rode Washington and his armies. Before it 
Burgoyne laid down his arms. It waved on the highlands at West 
Point. When Arnold would have surrendered these valuable for- 
tresses and precious legacies, his night was turned into day and 
his treachery was driven away by the beams of light from this 
starry banner. 



196 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

It cheered our army, driven out from around New York, and in 
their painful pilgrimages through New Jersey. In New Jersey, 
more than in almost every other state, grows the trailing arbutus. 
May I not think it is sacred drops of Pilgrim blood that come forth 
in beauteous flowers on this sandiest of soils ? For this sweet blos- 
som that lays its cheek on the very snow is the true Pilgrim's May- 
flower / This banner streamed in light over the soldiers' heads at 
Valley Forge and at Morristown. It crossed the waters rolling with 
ice at Trenton, and when its stars gleamed in the cold morning with 
victory, a new day of hope dawned on the despondency of this nation. 

Our states grew up under it. And when our ships began to swarm 
upon the ocean to carry forth our commerce, and Great Britain 
arrogantly demanded the right to intrude her search warrants upon 
American decks, then up went the lightning flag, and every star 
meant liberty and every stripe streamed defiance. The gallant fleet 
of Lake Erie — have you forgotten it ? The thunders that echoed 
to either shore were overshadowed by this broad ensign of our 
American liberty. Those glorious men that went forth in the old 
ship Constitution carried this banner to battle and to victory. The 
old ship is alive yet. Bless the name, bless the ship, bless her historic 
memory, and bless the old nag that waves over her yet ! 

How glorious, then, has been its origin ! How glorious has been 
its history! How divine is its meaning! 

Selection illustrating Melody. * 

Note. Strive for pleasing variety in the Current Melody and avoid 
the faults named above in the execution of the Cadences. 

THE MURDER OF LOVEJOY 

Wendell Phillips 

A comparison has been drawn between the events of the Revo- 
lution and the tragedy at Alton. We have heard it asserted here, 
in Faneuil Hall, that Great Britain had a right to tax the colonies; 
and we have heard the mob at Alton, the drunken murderers of 
Lovejoy, compared to those patriot fathers who threw the tea over- 
board ! Fellow citizens, is this Faneuil Hall doctrine ? The mob at 
Alton were met to wrest from a citizen his just rights — met to 



MELODY 197 

resist the laws. We have been told that our fathers did the same : 
and the glorious mantle of Revolutionary precedent has been 
thrown over the mobs of our day. To make out their title to such 
defense, the gentleman says that the British Parliament had a 
right to tax these colonies. Shame on the American who calls the 
tea tax and Stamp Act laws ! Our fathers resisted, not the king's 
prerogative, but the king's usurpation. To find any other account 
you must read our Revolutionary history upside down. 

Sir, when I heard the gentleman lay down principles which 
place the murderers of Alton side by side with Otis and Hancock, 
with Quincy and Adams, I thought those pictured lips would have 
broken into voice to rebuke the recreant American, — the slanderer 
of the dead. The gentleman said that he should sink into insignif- 
icance if he dared to gainsay the principles of these resolutions. 
Sir, for the sentiments he has uttered, on soil consecrated by the 
prayers of Puritans and the blood of patriots, the earth should 
have yawned and swallowed him up. 

The gentleman says Lovejoy was presumptuous and imprudent: 
" He died as the fool dieth." And a reverend clergyman of the city 
tells us that no citizen has a right to publish opinions disagreeable 
to the community ! If any mob follows such publication, on him 
rests its guilt ! He must wait, forsooth, till the people come up to 
it and agree with him ! This libel on liberty goes on to say that 
the want of right to speak as we think is an evil inseparable from 
republican institutions ! If this be so, what are they worth? Wel- 
come the despotism of the sultan, where one knows what he may 
publish and what he may not, rather than the tyranny of this many- 
headed monster, the mob, where we know not what we may do or 
say, till some fellow-citizen has tried it and paid for the lesson 
with his life. Shades of Hugh Peters and John Cotton save us 
from such pulpits ! 

Imprudent to defend the liberty of the press ! Why? Because the 
defense was unsuccessful ? Does success gild crime into patriotism, 
and the want of it change heroic self-devotion to imprudence ? 
Was Hampden imprudent when he drew the sword and threw away 
the scabbard ? Yet he, judged by that single hour, was unsuccess- 
ful. After a short exile, the race he hated sat again upon the throne. 



198 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Imagine yourself present when the first news of Bunker Hill 
Battle reached a New England town. The tale would have run 
thus: "The patriots are routed — the redcoats victorious — War- 
ren lies dead upon the field." With what scorn would that Tory 
have been received who should have charged Warren with impru- 
dence, who should have said that, bred a physician, he was " out 
of place" in that battle, and " died as the fool diethyl How 
would the intimation have been received that Warren and his 
associates should have waited a better time ? 

One word, gentlemen. As much as thoughts better than money, 
so much is the cause in which Lovejoy died nobler than a mere 
question of taxes. James Otis thundered in this hall when the 
king did but touch his pocket. Imagine, if you can, his indignant 
eloquence had England offered to put a gag upon his lips. The 
question that stirred the Revolution touched our civil interests. 
This concerns us not only as citizens, but as immortal beings. 
Wrapped up in its fate, saved or lost with it, are not only the 
voice of the statesman, but the instructions of the pulpit and the 
progress of our faith. 



PART III 
ELEMENTS OF ACTION 

Action is that part of expression which addresses itself to 
the eye. It embraces position, attitude, gesture, and facial 
expression. Its purpose is to reenforce speech ; if it does not 
do this, it is superfluous. 

CHAPTER IX 

CONCEPTION OF ACTION 

Four considerations must be borne in mind in applying action, 
— (i) Impulse to action, (2) Suppression of self, (3) Limits 
of personation, (4) Action i?i figurative language, 

SECTION I. IMPULSE TO ACTION 

Impulse to Action is the desire to strengthen spoken lan- 
guage with gesture or some other movement. The impulse is 
more important than the form of action. Still it is necessary to 
cultivate form because action in good form is more forceful. 
To be effective, action must also be spontaneous, must have 
impulse behind it. Better no action than no impulse. 

SECTION II. SUPPRESSION OF SELF 

The speaker should make his theme more prominent than 
himself, should hide behind his subject, and lead his audiences 
to think and feel with him. Awkward or profuse gesture attracts 
attention to the speaker. People lose sight of the thought and 

199 



200 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

carry away the memory of inappropriate gesture and striking 
attitude. Gesture should be simple, sincere, and suited to the 
word. 

SECTION III. LIMITS OF PERSONATION 

Public readers and speakers are under great temptation to 

act out many things which should be left to the imagination. 

In no respect has the criticism of judicious minds been so 

severe as against undue impersonation. The following simple 

laws, if put into practice, will reduce such tendency to a 

minimum. 

i. First Law 

The speaker should personate only when uttering the direct 
words or strong emotion of a character. In the following lines 
from " Horatius at the Bridge " one may very properly person- 
ate the strong soldier giving the command. He may take a 
manly, heroic, but modest attitude, such as this courageous 
Roman is supposed to have taken at the time : 

Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, 

With all the speed ye may ; 
I, with two more to help me, 

Will hold the foe in play. 
In yon strait path a thousand 

May well be stopped by three. 
Now who will stand on either hand, 

And keep the bridge with me ? — Macaulay. 

Of a very different nature are the descriptive passages. In 
such there is a tendency with young students to personate, to 
act out the descriptions. The following lines are spoken about 
Astur and Horatius, and not by them. Hence they should not 
be personated : 

Then, whirling up his broadsword 
With both hands to the height, 
He rushed against Horatius, 



LIMITS OF PERSONATION 201 

And smote with all his might. 

He reel'd, and on Herminius 

He lean'd one breathing-space, 
Then, like a wild-cat mad with wounds, 

Sprang right at Astur's face. — Ibid. 

This does not mean that there should be no action, but that 
what is used should be suggestive, not personative, i.e. the acts 
may be pointed out by the describer and pictured to the imag- 
ination, but not actually done. Let the student apply this 
principle in the following passage from the same poem: 

So he spake, and, speaking, sheathed 

The good sword by his side, 
And, with his harness on his back, 

Plunged headlong in the tide. — Ibid. 

To act that which should be left to the imagination has much 
the same effect upon an audience as the explanation of a joke. 

2. Second Law 

There must be a distinction between the reciter and the actor. 
While the vocal expression is practically the same, the action 
in the two cases is very different. The actor is aided by the 
costume, the scenery, the support, and the accessories. He 
draws and sheathes his sword or dagger. He gives a letter, a 
book, or other material thing to the character addressed. 

The reader or personator does not depend on costume and 
stage trappings for effects. He draws upon the imagination 
for the scenes, characters, and accessories. He indicates the 
drawing of the sword and the using of it, but does not sheathe 
it or account for it afterwards. He extends the hand with an 
imaginary book or letter, or opens the palm to receive some 
material thing. He leaves to the imagination of the audience 
much which the actor produces. He should not therefore 
encroach upon the actor's art. 



202 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

SECTION IV. ACTION IN FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE 

Literal action should not be used in figurative language. 
The violation of this law is common in the first stages of speech 
making. The youth who pointed to his own open mouth in 
speaking of the " jaws of the hydra-headed monster " violated 
this principle. The distinguished preacher who literalized 
" striking at the very gates of heaven," with a high jump and 
a violent swing of his fist at the pearly gates, was also doing 
violence to this law. " The heart of the nation," " A whirlwind 
of revolution," and " No friend of liberty who has not dropped 
his head " are expressions that need no literal action to make 
them impressive. 

CHAPTER X 

REQUISITES OF ACTION 

The Requisites or qualities of action are four, — (i) Grace, 
(2) Force, (3) Precision, and (4) Economy. 

SECTION I. GRACE 

Grace of action is the ease and freedom of bodily move- 
ments. It comes of the simple but harmonious action of all 
parts of the body. Grace requires that there be curve enough 
to overcome stiffness and awkwardness, but not enough for 
extravagance. 

SECTION II. FORCE 

Force is the energy put into gesture or other bodily move- 
ments. It may be gentle, moderate, or impassioned, depend- 
ent upon the feeling or emotion. Tranquillity, for example, 
requires gentle force ; didactic thought, moderate strength ; and 
rage, impassioned action. Ease may be acquired by persistent 
exercise in aesthetic physical culture, and especially in move- 
ments in technique of action (see page 229). 



PRECISION 203 

SECTION III. PRECISION 

Precision is the proper timing of action. Gestures are often 
finished on the wrong word, the head stroke in the passing 
bow is not timed to the step, and the look is not suited to 
the word. Any gesture or other movement out of time is like 
a note of music out of time. It breaks the harmony. 

Precision of gesture embraces three acts, — ( 1 ) Preparation, 
(2) Stroke, and (3) Retii?-n. 

1. The Preparation 

The Preparation of a gesture occurs on the three or four 
syllables immediately preceding the word to be emphasized. 
Gesture would better be prepared too early than too hastily, 
for the poise of the hand in the air creates expectancy on the 
part of the audience. In preparation the hand is usually 
relaxed and moves through an arch until it arrives at the point 
where the sweep or expressive part begins. One should guard 
against superfluous, out-of-the-way curves in preparation. The 
movement should be simple but free. 

2. The Stroke 

The Stroke is the sudden impulse that ends the expressive 
part of the gesture. It comes from the elbow, wrist, and fingers, 
and occurs on the accented syllable of the emphatic word. 
Its force is gentle, moderate, or impassioned in accordance 
with the sentiment. In order to get the full effect of a gesture, 
the hand may be held in place a moment after the stroke, and 
may emphasize the thought by slight impulses on other leading 
words in the sentence. Such impulses are given from the 
elbow and shoulder without renewing the preparation, and 
with but little wrist action ; e.g. " There is Boston and Con- 
cord and Lexington and Bunker Hill and there they will 
remain forever " ; " Give generously and freely." 



204 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

3. The Return 

The Return of a gesture should be made when it has served 
its purpose and no other is to follow immediately. The hand 
should be brought easily but directly to the side or to some 
other position of repose. Two extremes should be avoided : 
first, drawing in the hand by some circuitous route and placing 
it away mechanically; and second, letting it fall so heavily as 
to attract attention. 

SECTION IV. ECONOMY 

Economy of action is the judicious use of appropriate action. 
There may be too little or too much gesture. Either is a viola- 
tion of economy. Well- executed gestures may tire by their 
frequency or attract attention by their infrequency. Two arms 
are often used where one would do. A favorite gesture often 
becomes a noticeable habit. The index finger may be shaken 
in rebuke once or twice with good effect, but if shaken con- 
tinually it loses force and grows monotonous. 

The amount of gesture depends upon the temperament of 
the speaker and the character of the speech. It may be curbed 
in one speaker and stimulated in another. True economy calls 
for just enough to reenforce the thought and no more. 



CHAPTER XI 

LAWS GOVERNING ACTION 

As the excellencies and faults of speech may be determined 
by a knowledge of vocal principles, so correct and incorrect 
gesture or attitude may be detected by the study of the under- 
lying principles or laws which govern action. We shall treat 
(1) the Zones of the Body, (2) the Anns, (3) Principles of 
Gesture, (4) Planes of Gesture, (5) the Legs, and (6) Positions 
and Attitudes* 



ZONES OF THE BODY 205 

SECTION I. ZONES OF THE BODY 

The Zones of the body or any of its members are those sec- 
tions or divisions which correspond to man's Triune Nature. 
The body as an expressive agent may be divided into three 
parts, — (i) the Head, (2) the Torso, and (3) the Limbs, — 
corresponding to the three natures of man, as follows : 

THead . . . Mental 1 

Body i Torso . . . Emotive y Man 

[Limbs . . . Vital J 

1. The Head, which contains the brain, the seat of the mind, 
belongs to the Mental division. The nod or shake of the head, 
the intelligent flash of the eye, the movements of the lips in 
articulation, are mental in significance. 

2. The Torso, containing the heart and popularly recognized 
as the seat of the affections and emotions, is Emotive in signifi- 
cance. The writhing, twisting, and swaying movements of the 
torso manifest the stronger workings of this nature. 

3. The Limbs, which are the most muscular parts of the body 
and the active agents of physical exertion, are Vital in nature. 
Walking, running, dancing, fighting, etc., show the strong activ- 
ities of this nature. As agents of gesture and attitude there are 
two divisions, — (1) the Arms, and (2) the Legs, 

The above are the Generic divisions of the body. For the 
purposes of the Secondary Schools we shall treat only the Vital 
division, leaving the fuller treatment for college and univer- 
sity work. 

SECTION II. THE ARMS 

Delsarte gives the following classification of the parts of the 
arm with reference to the Triune Nature. 



Upper Arm . . . Vital "1 



Arm ^ Forearm .... Emotive )> Man 



[Hand Mental 



206 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

i. The Upper Arm contains the muscles which are brought 
into play in strong physical exertion, such as striking heavy 
blows, lifting, climbing, or rowing. The expression " strike out 
from the shoulder" is significant of the Vital character of this 
agent of expression. 

2. The Forearm, hinging on the Emotive elbow, is brought 
into action in the cordial hand clasp, in supplication and aver- 
sion, all of which give evidence of its Emotive significance. 

3. The Hand is the Mental agent of the arm. While it 
responds to all three of the psychic states, it is most significant 
of the Mental nature. As an agent of expression the hand is 
delicately articulated, affording the greatest mobility and skill 
in its use. We write and draw pictures with the hand. We 
enumerate upon the fingers. The deaf and dumb talk with 
the hands. The mental act of touching the keys of a piano is 
performed by the hands. So significant is the hand that it 
determines the meaning and therefore the principle of the ges- 
ture. "Animals would have been men had they had hands/' 
exclaimed the ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras. 

SECTION III. PRINCIPLES OF GESTURE 

The Principles of Gesture, as determined by the position of 
the hand, may be reduced to seven in number, — (1) the 
Index, (2) the Supine, (3) the Prone, (4) the Reflex, (5) the 
Clasped, (6) the Averse, and (7) the Clenched. 

Considered in relation to the Triune Nature, they may be 
classified as follows : 

Index.. 

Supine 1 2 --==* Mental 

I Prone ^-"' 

Hand / Reflex.-, ^-^ . ) Man 

~ — - -V^E motlve 
l Clasped,. 

Averse^- - 

~-----_Vital 
Clenched — --""" 



PRINCIPLES OF GESTURE 



207 



1. The Index 



The Index is the pointer of the hand. The forefinger is 
extended and emphasized while the other fingers are turned in 
(see Figs. 5 and 6). The dominant significance of this prin- 
ciple is mentality. It calls attention to objects in whatever 





Fig. 5. Hand Index 



Fig. 6. Hand Index 

plane they may be located, or directs the intellect of an audi- 
ence in the close reasoning of debate. With the palm and 
fingers turned down and the forefinger extended forward in a 
horizontal position, it adds great emphasis to the directing 
power of the gesture. Held in a vertical position and slightly 
shaken forward and back, it admonishes, charges, and expostu- 
lates with. The Index, then, adds great force to the expression 
of caution, reproach, rebuke, solemn warning, and command ; 
it directs, points out objects, enimerates facts, and designates 
argument. 

Sentences illustrating the Index : 

(1) Yonder comes my master, your brother. — Shakespeare. 

(2) Far along from peak to peak . . . leaps the live thunder. 

— Byron. 

(3) You knew, none so well, none so well as you, of my 
daughter's flight. — Shakespeare. 



208 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

2. The Supine 

In the Supine principle the palm is turned upward, usually 
at an angle of about 45°(see Figs. 7 and 8). The fingers are 
extended without being strained back. The thumb is ener- 
gized, the forefinger well opened, the other fingers slightly 





Fig. 7. Hand Supine 



Fig. 8. Hand Supine 

curved, and the whole hand is about as wide at the point as at 
the palm. When the gesture is high the palm may not be seen 
by the audience, but it may always be seen by the speaker. 
The Supine is the most commonly used of the principles of 
gesture. It is revelatory in character and corresponds most 
nearly to the Mental nature. It is appropriate in affirmation, 
welcome, giving, receiving, asking, appeal, concession, submis- 
sion, humility, according to the plane in which it is made. 

Sentences illustrating the Supine : 

(1) Give generously and freely. Recollect that in so doing you 
are exercising one of the most god-like qualities of your nature. 

— Prentiss. 

(2) Good old man, thou art right welcome as thy master is. 

— Shakespeare. 

(3) I appeal from the spirit of trade to the spirit of liberty. 

— Hoar. 



PRINCIPLES OF GESTURE 



209 



3. The Prone 

In the Prone principle the palm is turned downward (see 
Figs. 9' and 10). It molds, shapes, caresses, and commands. 
It sweeps over an expanse, traces out distance, measures 
heights, and feels the way in darkness. The outstretched 





Fig. 9. Hand Prone 



Fig. 10. Hand Prone 

hands of the. minister, at the close of a church service, are not 
an unmeaning benediction. The religious ceremony of the 
laying on of hands signifies blessing or the imparting of spirit- 
ual force. The Prone hand held upright in the act of taking 
the oath is the outward sign of submission and truth. While 
the Supine hand reveals, the Prone conceals or suppresses. The 
one affirms, the other denies ; one receives, the other rejects. 
In significance these are Mental states, but when expressing 
reproof, moral restraint, offeri?ig protection, blessing, and bene- 
diction, the action enters the Emotive realm. 

Sentences illustrating the Prone : 

(1) Nor Heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry 
Hold, hold! — Shakespeare. 

(2) Peace! silence! Brutus speaks. — Shakespeare. 

(3) O name him not, . . . for he will never follow any thing 
that other men begin. — Shakespeare. 



2IO 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



4. The Reflex 

In the Reflex principle the palm is directed toward some 
part of the body (see Figs, n and 12). The hand touches 
or strikes the head in deep thought, bewilderment, or dis- 
traction ; e.g. Hamlet in driving himself to devise means to 




Fig. 11. Hand Reflex 




Fig. 12. Hand Reflex 



" catch the conscience" of the King, exclaims, "About, my 
brain ! " The hand is directed toward the torso in referring to 
soul, affection, heart, self, as in the words, " Hold, hold, my 
i heart ; and you, my sinews, grow not instant old, but bear me 
stiffly up." The hand clutches some part of the vital organs 
in physical pain, as in the words of King John, "O, I am 
poisoned." 

The Reflex, then, is used in concentration, reflection, arrogance, 
self-abnegation, self-menace, convulsion. Such expression fully 
warrants that this principle be classed as Emotive in nature. 

Sentences illustrating the Reflex : 

(1) Do I look like a cudgel? — Shakespeare. 

(2) I am the Emperor and the incomparable archer of Rome. 

— Tho7npson. 

(3) And for that name that is no part of thee take all myself. 

— Shakespeare. 



PRINCIPLES OF GESTURE 211 

5. The Clasped 

In hands Clasped the palms are brought together and the 
fingers and thumbs are clasped or interlocked (see Figs. 13 and 
14). This principle is seen when the hands are wrung in grief, 
anguish, and remorse ; and when they are extended upward in 




Fig. 13. Hands Clasped 



Fig. 14. Hands Clasped 

supplication, which is emphasized when the hands are drawn 
nearer to the body and the elbows raised and extended at a 
sharper angle. It is also recognized in the eager grasp of the 
hand and the hearty hand shake of friendship, in which the 
palms are pressed together in cordiality and sympathy. In 
expression, then, the Clasped hands respond to the Emotive 
nature, and are used in prayer, entreaty, supplication, ado- 
ration, deep sorrow, anguish, and remorse. 

Sentences illustrati?ig the Clasped : 

(1) Dead ! both my boys ! When you sit at the feast, and are 
wanting a great song for Italy free, let none look at me. 

— Mrs. Browning. 

(2) What wilt thou do ? Thou wilt not murder me ? Help, help, 
ho ! — Shakespeare. 

(3) Thou shalt judge. Thine, Jehovah, is the vengeance. Thou 
alone canst send it. — Daly. 



2 12 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

6. The Averse 

In the Averse principle the hand is turned away at a positive 
angle with the forearm (see Figs. 15 and 16). It is closely 
related to the Prone, though the exact angle at which the Prone 
ends and the Averse begins is not to be marked by hard-and-fast 
lines. It is necessary to distinguish between these two principles 




Fig. 15. Hand Averse 




Fig. 16. Hands Averse 



because of their wide divergency in expression. Benediction 
and aversion, so different in character, require different prin- 
ciples of gesture. This difference is shown at the wrist. At an 
obtuse angle the Averse expresses admonition, reproof, or repres- 
sion ; at a sharper angle, aversion, repulsion, and fear; at a still 
sharper angle, with the fingers spread apart, extreme fear, ter- 
ror, horror, and loathing. Because a part of these sentiments 
belong to the Emotive and a part to the Vital nature the Averse 
principle is classified as pivotal between the two. 

Sentences illustrating the Averse : 

(1) Away, slight man. — Shakespeare. 

(2) O most cursed fiend ! . . . Thou and my bosom henceforth 
shall be twain. — Shakespeare. 

(3) Avaunt, thou dreadful minister of hell ! — Shakespeare. 

(4) " Imperial ? " Away with it. I do not like the sound of it. 

— Jefferson. 



PRINCIPLES OF GESTURE 213 

7. The Clenched 

In the Clenched principle of gesture the fingers are bound 
together by the thumb into a solid mass (see Figs. 17 and 18). 
Its significance is universally understood. All grades of civili- 
zation know that the Clenched fist signifies preparation for 
physical conflict, the enforcement of strong passion, determi- 




Fig. 17. Hand Clenched 



Fig. 18. Hands Clenched 

nation, or force of will. It is man's weapon of attack, and 
therefore responds most fully to the Vital nature. It is used in 
sentiments dominated by great physical energy, such as cour- 
age ^ defiance, hate, anger, and revenge. It is much used by the 
orator when he desires to enforce a thought with great vigor. 

Sentences illustrating the Clenched : 

(1) If I can catch him once upon the hip, I will feed fat the 
ancient grudge I bear him. — Shakespeare. 

(2) I will have the heart of him, if he forfeit. — Shakespeare. 

(3) Whether he be a privy councilor or a parasite my answer 
would be a blow. — Grattan. 

(4) Now let it work. Mischief, thou art a foot, take thou what 
course thou wilt. — Shakespeare. 

All the above principles are used in dramatic action, but the 
orator in public address seldom uses more than four of them, 
the Supine, the Prone, the Index, and the Clenched. 



214 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

Selection illustrating the Principles of Gesture. 

Note. The student should analyze the following selection, determine 
from the foregoing discussion the principles of gesture to be employed, 
and apply them to delivery. 

CAUGHT IN THE QUICKSAND 
Victor Hugo 

It sometimes happens that a man, traveler or fisherman, walk- 
ing on the beach at low tide, far from the bank, suddenly notices 
that for several minutes he has been walking with some difficulty. 
The strand beneath his feet is like pitch ; his soles stick in it ; it 
is sand no longer ; it is glue. 

The beach is perfectly dry, but at every step he takes, as soon 
as he lifts his foot, the print which it leaves fills with water. The 
eye, however, has noticed no change ; the immense strand is 
smooth and tranquil ; all the sand has the same appearance ; 
nothing distinguishes the surface which is solid from that which 
is no longer so ; the joyous little crowd of sand flies continue to 
leap tumultuously over the wayfarer's feet. The man pursues his 
way, goes forward, inclines to the land, endeavors to get nearer the 
upland. 

He is not anxious. Anxious about what ? Only he feels, some- 
how, as if the weight of his feet increases with every step he takes. 
Suddenly he sinks in. 

He sinks in two or three inches. Decidedly he is not on the 
right road ; he stops to take his bearings ; now he looks at his 
feet. They have disappeared. The sand covers them. He draws 
them out of the sand ; he will retrace his steps. He turns back, 
he sinks in deeper. The sand comes up to his ankles ; he pulls 
himself out and throws himself to the left — the sand half-leg 
deep. He throws himself to the right ; the sand comes up to his 
knees. Then he recognizes with unspeakable terror that he is 
caught in the quicksand, and that he has beneath him the terrible 
medium in which man can no more walk than the fish can swim. 
He throws off his load if he has one, lightens himself as a ship in 
distress ; it is already too late. He calls, he waves his hat or his 



PLANES OF GESTURE 



215 



handkerchief; the sand gains on him more and more. He feels 
that he is being swallowed up. He howls, implores, cries to the 
clouds, despairs. 

Behold him waist deep in the sand. The sand reaches his 
breast ; he is now only a bust. He raises his arms, utters furious 
groans, clutches the beach with his nails, would hold by that straw, 
leans upon his elbows to pull himself out of this soft sheath ; sobs 
frenziedly ; the sand rises ; the sand reaches his shoulders ; the 
sand reaches his neck ; the face alone is visible now. The mouth 
cries, the sand fills it — silence. The eyes still gaze, the sand 
shuts them — night. Now the forehead decreases, a little hair flut- 
ters above the sand ; a hand comes to the surface of the beach, 
moves, and shakes, disappears. Sinister effacement of a man. 



SECTION IV. PLANES OF GESTURE 

There are three Planes of Gesture, — (1) the Plane of 
Equality -, (2) the Plane of the Superior ; and (3) the Plane of 
the Inferior. The approximate angle occupied by each of these 
planes is shown in Fig. 19. 



Plane of 
Superior 



Plane of 
Equality 



Plane of 
Inferior 




Fig. 19 



2l6 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

i. Plane of Equality 

The Plane of Equality is the plane of direct address. Its range 
vertically is through an arc of about thirty degrees, with the 
shoulder as a center. It is the normal zone in which men deal 
with their fellow-men. Gestures of ordinary conversation, de- 
scription, didactic thought, calm reasoning, ordinary public 
address, and direct appeal are in the Plane of Equality ; in fact, 
most gestures occur in this plane. 

Sentences illustrating the Plane of Equality. 

(i) Within our territory stretching through many degrees of 
latitude and longitude we have the choice of many products and 
many means of independence. — Story. 

(2) Do we mean to submit to the measures of Parliament, 
Boston-Port Bill and all ? — Webster. 

(3) Welcome, Icilius ! Welcome, friends! — Knowles. 

(4) Have I not cause enough for angur? — Halm. 

2. Plane of the Superior 

The Plane of the Superior is the plane of the ideal, of the 
imaginative and the poetic. It is called by some the elevated 
plane. Gestures range through an arc of forty or fifty degrees 
above the Plane of Equality. Sentiments of hope, beneficence, 
benediction, patriotism, triumph, liberty, and appeals to Heaven 
or Deity require gestures in the Plane of the Superior. 

Sentences illustrating the Plane of the Superior. 

(1) Some to the common pulpits and cry out "liberty, freedom 
and enfranchisement." — Shakespeare. 

(2) "Good speed!" cried the watch as the gate-bolts undrew, 
" Speed," echoed the wall to us galloping through." 

— Browning. 

(3) Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him. 

(4) Forbid it, Almighty God ! — Henry. 

— Shakespeare. 



PLANES OF GESTURE 217 

3. Plane of the Inferior 

The Plane of the Inferior is the plane of the debasing. Its 
range is through an arc of forty to fifty degrees below the Plane 
of Equality. Gestures putting down the bad, the low, the vile, 
or the contemptible culminate in this plane. Malevolence, hate, 
revenge, gloom, despair, horror, and aversion are enforced by 
gestures that conclude in this plane. 

Sentences illustratifig the Plane of the Inferior, 

(1) Out of my sight, thou demon of bad news. — Aldrich. 

(2) I'll force out his last drachma. O, I'll not rest until I've 
had revenge. — Halm. 

(3) O, what a rash and bloody deed is this ! — Shakespeare. 

(4) Down, therefore, and beg mercy of the Duke. — Shakespeare. 

Selection illustrating the Planes of Gesture. 

Note. Analyze the following selection and apply gesture in accord- 
ance with the reasons set forth for the use of the different Planes. 

GALILEO 
Edward Everett 

There is much in every way in the city of Florence to excite 
the curiosity, kindle the imagination, and gratify the taste ; but 
among all its fascinations, addressed to the sense, the memory, and 
the heart, there was none to which I more frequently gave a med- 
itative hour during a year's residence, than to the spot where 
Galileo Galilei sleeps beneath the marble floor of Santa Croce ; 
no building on which I gazed with greater reverence than I did 
upon that modest mansion of Arceti : villa once, and prison, in 
which that venerable sage, by the command of the Inquisition, 
passed the sad, closing years of his life. 

Of all the wonders of ancient and modern art, statues and paint- 
ings, jewels and manuscripts, the admiration and delight of ages, 
there is nothing I beheld with more affectionate awe than that 
poor little spyglass through which the human eye first pierced the 



2 18 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

clouds of visual error, which from the creation of the world had 
involved the system of the universe. 

There are occasions in life in which a great mind lives years of 
rapt enjoyment in a moment. I can fancy the emotions of Galileo, 
when, first raising the newly constructed telescope to the heavens, 
he saw fulfilled the grand prophecy of Copernicus, and beheld the 
planet Venus crescent like the moon. 

It was such another moment as that when the immortal printers 
of Mentz and Strasburg received the first copy of the Bible into 
their hands, the work of their divine art ; like that when Colum- 
bus, through the gray dawn of the 12th of October, 1492, beheld 
the shores of San Salvador ; like that when the law of gravitation 
first revealed itself to the intellect of Newton ; like that when 
Franklin saw, by the stiffening fibers of the hempen cord of his 
kite, that he held the lightning in his grasp ; like that when 
Leverrier received back from Berlin the tidings that the predicted 
planet was found. 

Yes, noble Galileo, thou art right, "it does move." Bigots may 
make thee recant it, but it moves, nevertheless. Yes, the earth 
moves, and the planets move, and the mighty waters move, and 
the great sweeping tides of air move, and the empires of men 
move, and the world of thought moves, ever onward and upward, 
to higher facts and bolder theories. The Inquisition may seal thy 
lips, but they can no more stop the progress of the great truth 
propounded by Copernicus and demonstrated by thee, than they 
can stop the revolving earth. 

Close, now, venerable sage, that sightless, tearful eye ; it has 
seen what man never before saw ; it has seen enough. Hang up 
that poor little spyglass ; it has done its work. Not Herschel nor 
Rosse have, comparatively, done more. Franciscans and Domin- 
icans deride thy discoveries now, but the time will come when, 
from two hundred observatories in Europe and America, the glo- 
rious artillery of science shall nightly assault the skies ; but they 
shall gain no conquests in those glittering fields before which thine 
shall be forgotten. 

Rest in peace, great Columbus of the heavens — like him 
scorned, persecuted, broken-hearted! In other ages, in distant 



THE LEGS 219 

hemispheres, when the votaries of science, with solemn acts of 
consecration, shall dedicate their stately edifices to the cause of 
knowledge and truth, thy name shall be mentioned with honor. 

SECTION V. THE LEGS 

With reference to the Triune Nature the Leg is divided as 

follows : 

TFoot .... Mental 1 

Leg i Lower Leg . . Emotive }- Man 

[ Upper Leg . . Vital j 

i. The Foot and Ankle belong to the Mental zone of the 
leg. The foot taps the floor in impatience or irritation, twists 
about in confused thinking, picks the steps, finds the path, and 
gives direction to the punt of a ball. 

2 . The Lower Leg and Knee are Emotive in general signifi- 
cance. The knee bends in prayer or supplication, bows in 
submission, and shakes in strong emotion. The weak-kneed 
person lacks moral strength. 

3. The Upper Leg and Hip correspond to the Vital nature. 
While the foot gives direction, the heavy muscles of the thigh 
give strength to the punt of a ball, to walking, running, or 
leaping. 

SECTION VI. POSITIONS AND ATTITUDES 

Viewed from the standpoint of the Triune Nature, the Posi- 
tions and Attitudes are classified as follows : 

{Second Attitude Right and Left, Forward. __ j 

First Attitude Right and Left.., - - r " " Vltal I 
First Position Right and Left _V_VjTjrr ^ = .Mental ) Man 
Second Position Right and Left^- rrr - """ . / 

Second Attitude Right and Left, Backward, -~--' = " m ° VC I 

We shall treat only those positions and attitudes which are 
essential to public speaking and most used on the rostrum. 



220 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



i. First Position 

In the First Position either foot may be advanced : if the 
right, it is called First Position Right; if the left, First Position 
Left. The heels are separated from three to six inches. The 
forward foot is directed from the heel of the back foot. The 
angle between the feet is about 75 . The legs are straight. 
The weight is nearly equally distributed, and is carried toward 
the balls of the feet without throwing the body forward from 
an erect, easy position (see Figs. 20 and 21). 1 





Fig. 20. 
First Position Right 



Fig. 21. 
First Position Left 



The First Position is more used than any other. It is the 
normal position. Its significance is that of ordinary mentality 
when the speaker is not moved by strong emotion. It is appro- 
priate then in ordinary discourse, argumentation, narration, 
description, didactic thought, and in the gentle emotions. The 
First Right and the First Left are used interchangeably in 
expression to avoid fatigue. 

1 In all the cuts used to illustrate positions and attitudes those parts of the 
tracks which are most heavily shaded show where the greatest weight is placed. 



POSITIONS AND ATTITUDES 221 

Selectio?i illustrating the First Position. 

Note. The First Position may very properly be maintained through- 
out the following short speech. Variety may be had by a few changes 
from the First Position Right to the First Position Left, and vice versa. 

COMMERCIAL EXPANSION 

William McKinley 

The period of exclusiveness is past. The expansion of our trade 
and commerce is the pressing problem. Commercial wars are 
unprofitable. A policy of good will and friendly trade relations 
will prevent reprisals. Reciprocity treaties are in harmony with the 
spirit of the times : measures of retaliation are not. If perchance 
some of our tariffs are no longer needed for revenue or to encour- 
age and protect our industries at home, why should they not be 
employed to extend and promote our markets abroad ? 

Then, too, we have inadequate steamship service. New lines of 
steamers have already been put in commission between the Pacific 
coast ports of the United States and those on the western coasts 
of Mexico and Central and South America. These should be fol- 
lowed up with direct steamship lines between the eastern coast 
of the United States and South American ports. One of the needs 
of the times is direct commercial lines from our vast fields of 
production to the fields of consumption that we have but barely 
touched. 

Next in advantage to having the thing to sell is to have the 
convenience to carry it to the buyer. We must encourage our 
merchant marine. We must have more ships. They must be 
under the American flag, built and manned and owned by Ameri- 
cans. These will not be profitable in a commercial sense ; they 
will be messengers of peace and amity wherever they go. 

2. Second Position 

In the Second Position either foot may be advanced : if the 
right, it is called Second Position Right ; if the left, the Second 
Position Left. The foot is set forward about its length from 
the First Position. The weight is on the forward foot. The 



222 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



heel of the back foot is lifted slightly from the floor, and the 
foot rests upon its ball. The angle between the feet is about 
90 (see Figs. 22 and 23). 

It is used where emotion is added to mentality and the 
speaker is impelled forward toward his audience to impart his 





Fig. 22. 
Second Position Right 



Fig. 23. 
Second Position Left 



thought with more friendliness and fervor. It is appropriate 
then in earnest interest, anxiety, welcome, appeal, supplication, 
and entreaty. The Second Right and Second Left are comple- 
mentary to each other, and are interchangeable in expression, 
except that in speaking far to the right the Second Right is 
more sympathetic and appropriate, and in speaking far to the 
left the Second Left gives the more graceful appearance. 

Sentences illustrating the Second Position. 

Note. In the following short passages where earnest appeal and 
supplication are used there is opportunity, now and then, for the use of 
the Second Position Right and Left. 

(1) In the name, then, of common humanity, I invoke your aid in 
behalf of starving Ireland. Give generously and freely. Recollect 



POSITIONS AND ATTITUDES 



223 



that in so doing you are exercising one of the most God-like quali- 
ties of your nature. — Prentiss. 

(2) But yesterday the word of Caesar might 

Have stood against the world ; now lies he there, 
And none so poor to do him reverence. 

masters, if I were disposed to stir 
Your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, 

1 should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong, 
Who, you all know, are honorable men : 

I will not do them wrong ; I rather choose 

To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, 

Than I will wrong such honorable men ! — Shakespeare. 



3. First Attitude 

An attitude is a position extended and enlarged. 
The First Attitude is an extension of the First Position. It 
has a broader base and a firmer bracing of the lower limbs. The 





Fig. 24. 
First Attitude Right 



Fig. 25. 
First Attitude Left 



angle between the feet is the same and the weight is distrib- 
uted as in the First Position (see Figs. 24 and 25). There are 



224 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

two divisions, — the First Attitude Right and the First Attitude 
Left. They are used interchangeably in the expression of 
courage, defiance, heroism, pride, and arrogance ; in grand, bold, 
lofty, or impassioned oratory. 

Because it is closely related in expression to both the Men- 
tal and the Vital natures we have placed it as pivotal between 
them. 

Selections illustrating. 

Note. In the heroic and lofty passages of the following paragraphs 
the First Attitude is indispensable. Variety may be had by changes now 
and then from the First Right to the First Left. 

When my eyes shall be turned to behold, for the last time, the 
Sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dis- 
honored fragments of a once glorious Union ; on states dissevered, 
discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, 
it may be, in fraternal blood ! Let their last feeble and lingering 
glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now 
known and honored throughout the Earth, still full high advanced, 
its arms and trophies streaming in their original luster, not a stripe 
erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured ; bearing for its 
motto, no such miserable interrogatory as "What is all this worth ?" 
nor those other words of delusion and folly, " Liberty first, and Union 
afterwards " ; but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living 
light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and 
over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that 
other sentiment, dear to every true American heart, — Liberty and 
Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable ! — Webster. 

Reunited ! One country again and one country forever ! Pro- 
claim it from the press and pulpit ! Teach it in the schools ! 
Write it across the skies ! The world sees and feels it ! It cheers 
every heart, North and South, and brightens the life of every 
American home. Let nothing ever strain it again. At peace with 
all the world and with each other, what can stand in the pathway 
of our progress and prosperity ? — McKinley. 



POSITIONS AND ATTITUDES 



225 



4. Second Attitude 

The Second Attitude is based upon the Second Position. 
The lines and angles are practically the same, though the feet 
are more widely separated, as seen in the accompanying figures. 

There are two divisions, 
— the Seco?id Attitude, 
Forward, and the Second 
Attitude, Backward. 

(1) Second Attitude, 
Forward. 

In this attitude the 
body is inclined forward, 
the knee is slightly bent, 
the forward foot is placed 
about twice its length in 
front of the back foot 
and receives the greater 
part of the weight of the 
body (see Figs. 26 and 
27). Both feet are planted 
firmly upon the floor, and 
the back foot receives 
varying proportions of 
the weight. The angle 
between the feet is ap- 
proximately 90 , varying 
somewhat with the length of the step and the distribution of 
the weight. The farther forward the weight is shifted the more 
the heel of the back foot will be drawn in and the greater will 
be the angle, as shown in the dotted lines representing the 
back foot. 

In the Second Attitude either foot may be advanced : if the 
right, it is called the Second Attitude Right, Forward ; if the 




Fig. 26. 
Second Attitude Right, Forward 



226 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

left, the Second Attitude Left, Forward. These two parts of 
the Second Attitude are used interchangeably in speaking and 

are the natural expression 

I i \ °f great vitality, defiance, 

\ j . \ viole?it denunciation, exe- 

j / \ \ cration, malevolence, ag- 

h^=f \ I gression, menace, attack. 

I \ / / ^° ^ etter illustration of 

j J I j this attitude may be found 

/ / I / than in the aggressive 

^-^—A ( lunges of the fencer in 

^^X. his bouts with the rapier. 

On account of the char- 

...-;:-•.. v-^/ acter of the sentiments 

''•''!^^P\ which require this attitude 

yS \ it naturally falls to the 

yS \ Vital division of the Tri- 

yS \ une Nature. 

< (^^ Sentences illustrating the 

\ ^fc^ Second Attitude, Forward. 

*'\ % q o ...-••* Note. In the following 

***->-. ""' sentences the unusual vitality 

and aggressiveness give op- 
Fig. 27. Second Attitude Left, portunity for the use of the 

Forward Second Attitude, Forward. 

a. How now ! a rat? Dead for a ducat! Dead! — Shakespeare. 

b. Lay on, Macduff ! and damned be he that first cries, Hold ! 
enough ! — Shakespeare. 

c. O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, 

That I am meek and gentle with these butchers ! 

Thou art the ruins of the noblest man 

That ever lived in the tide of times. 

Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood ! 

— Shakespeare. 



POSITIONS AND ATTITUDES 



227 



(2) Second Attitude, Backward. 

In this attitude the back knee is slightly bent, the weight is 
thrown back and rests chiefly on the left leg and foot (see 
Figs. 28 and 29). As shown in these figures the angle between 
the feet varies from 90 to 125 — more than in any other 
position or attitude. As in- 
dicated by the dotted lines 
the forward foot varies in 
position according to the 
distribution of the weight 
of the body. The more the 
weight is shifted to the back 
foot the greater the angle. 
" In the Second Attitude, 
Backward, either foot may 
be advanced : if the right, 
it is called the Second Atti- 
tude Right, Backward ; if 
the left, the Second Attitude 
Left, Backward. The two 
parts of this attitude are 
complementary to each 
other and are used inter- 
changeably in expression FlG 2g> Second attitude 
according to the location of Right, Backward 
the object which inspires the feeling. 

As we have already seen, the Forward Attitude is used in 
aggressiveness, menace, defiance, and attack; the Backward 
Attitude, on the contrary, is used in defense, timidity, shrinking, 
fear, dread, amazement, terror, horror, and cowardice. While 
the Forward Attitude is used by the fencer in his lunges or 
the broadswordsman in his attacks, the Backward Attitude is 
necessary in defense in parrying the thrusts of his adversary 
or in shielding his body from the heavy blows. 




228 



ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 



In expression the torso, the arms, and the head must sustain 
sympathetic relation and move in harmony with the action of 

the lower limbs. 

In contrast with the For- 
ward Attitude, which is Vital 
in relation to the Triune 
Nature, the Backward 
Attitude is Emotive and 
defensive in character and 
expression. It goes with- 
out saying that in practice 
the student should fully 
realize the thought or emo- 
tion implied in the various 
attitudes used. 



Sentences illustrating the 
Second Attitude, Backward. 

Note*. In the following 
short passages illustrating this 
principle the surprise, disgust, 
and horror shown in the words 
may well be expressed in the 
receding movement of the Sec- 
ond Attitude, Backward. 




Fig. 29. Second Attitude 
Left, Backward 



a. Angels ! and ministers of grace, defend us ! — Shakespeare. 

b. O judgment ! thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have 
lost their reason. — Shakespeare. 

c. Oh, horrible ! horrible ! most horrible ! — Shakespeare. 

d. ' Hereafter ! ' Ay, — hereafter ! 
A whip to keep a coward to his track ! 

What gave Death ever from his kingdom back 

To check the skeptic's laughter ? 
Come from the grave to-morrow with that story 
And I may take some softer path to glory. — Willis. 



TECHNIQUE OF ACTION 229 

SECTION VII. TECHNIQUE OF ACTION 

That the student may have ample practice in Action we 
here give a series of exercises in technique. They are given, 
not for physical culture, but for their expressional value. To 
this end the student should keep in mind the thought or feel- 
ing implied in the various movements. 

1. Exercises for Freedom of Gesture 

(1) Finger Movement. Clasp the right hand with the left 
thumb and finger. Relax the fingers of the right until they 
form an easy curve. Open and close them alternately several 
times to the accompaniment of music or counting. Let the 
forefinger lead in moving out, the little 'finger in moving in. 

Exercise the left hand ; then both together. 

(2) Wrist Movement. Grasp the right wrist with the left 
thumb and finger. Draw in the hand from the wrist, partly 
closing the fingers as in exercise (1). Open and close alter- 
nately, keeping time to music or counting. 

Exercise the left wrist ; then both alternately. 

(3) Elbow Movement. Support the right elbow with the 
left hand. Draw in the forearm with the hand and fingers 
relaxed as in exercise (2). Open and close the arm to accu- 
rate time. The strokes of the elbow, the wrist, and the fingers 
should be simultaneous. To break the straight line there should 
be a slight curve at the elbow, a slight depression at the wrist, 
and a slight curve in the fingers. 

(4) Feather Movements. 

a. Vertical Movement. Extend the arms parallel, full length, 
diagonally downward. With hands hanging loosely let the wrists 
lead up and down several times through an arc of about 90 
degrees. Let the hands float after the wrists, the palms being 
turned in on the upward and out on the downward move- 
ment. 



230 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

b. Horizontal Movement. Place the arms at full length with 
the palms facing each other. Move them outward and inward 
alternately through an arc of about 90 degrees, letting the hands 
float after the wrists. 

(5) Supine Move77ients. 

a. Low. Extend both hands, palms up, diagonally to the 
right, and level with the hips, giving the upper arm, forearm, 
and finger movements. Give the same movement to the left. 

b. Medium. Repeat the movement with the hands level 
with the shoulders. 

c. High. Repeat as before with the hands above and in 
front of the head. 

(6) Prone Movements. 

a. Low. Fulfill the conditions of the first supine movement 
except that the palms should be down. 

b. Medium. The same as the preceding exercise, with the 
arms level with the shoulders. 

c. High. The same as before, with the arms above and in 
front of the head. 

(7) Rotary Movements. 

a. Outward. Extend the arms, full length, in front of the 
shoulders, palms down. Move the hands upward and outward, 
describing as great a circle as possible from the wrists. Keep 
the palms down and use no finger movements. Make the 
circle four times. 

b. Inward. Retrace the circle used in the last exercise four 
times, moving upward and inward. 

(8) Shaking Moveme?its. 

a. Horizontal. Raise the forearms to a level, the palms 
facing each other. Withdraw all energy from the hands and 
shake them vigorously with the forearms. Repeat four times. 

b. Vertical. Raise the forearms as before, with the palms 
down. Shake them vertically. Do the same with the edges 
down. Repeat four times. 



TECHNIQUE OF ACTION 231 

2. Exercises in Principles of Gesture 

(1) The Index. 

a. Give the Index in the Plane of the Superior with three 
strokes at different angles. 

b. Give the same in the Plane of Equality. 

c. Give the same in the Plane of the Inferior. 

(2) Give the Supine ', the Prone, the Clenched, and the Averse 
in like manner. 

(3) Practice consecutively with positive strokes in the Plane 
of Equality the following principles of gesture : The Iidex, 
the Supifie, the Prone, the Clenched, and the Averse. 

(4) Give the Reflex to different parts of the Mental, Emotive, 
and Vital zones of the body. 

(5) Give the Clasped on, and also in front of, the Torso. 

(6) Practice the principles of gesture in the following order : 

a. The Supine in the Plane of Equality. 

b. The Reflex on the Torso. 

c. The Index in Plane of Equality. 

d. The Prone in Plane of Superior. 

e. The Averse in Plane of Inferior. 

f. The Clasped on the Torso. 

g. The Clenched in Plane of Inferior. 

3. Exercises in Position and Attitude 
(1) First Position. 

a. Alternate between the First Right and the First Left by 
moving forward a few paces. Keep the right foot on the right 
side of a line and the left on the left. 

b. Move backward a few paces, observing the same conditions. 
Changes may be made from the First Right to the First 

Left, and vice versa, by turning on the balls of the feet, but 
changes by steps attract less attention and are therefore more 
desirable. 



232 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

(2) First and Second Positions. 

a. Change from the First Right to the Second Right. 
Return to the First Right. Repeat several times. Keep the 
body erect. 

b. Change from the First Left to the Second Left. Return 
to the First Left. Repeat several times. 

(3) Second Position. 

Move forward alternately from the Second Right to the 
Second Left in several short steps, as in ordinary walking. 
Halt after each step, with the weight on the forward foot. About 
face and retrace the steps. 

(4) First Position Right and First Attitude Right. 
Change from the First Position Right to the First Attitude 

Right. Return to the First Position Right. Repeat several 
times. 

(5) First Position Left and First Attitude Left. 

Change from the First Position Left to the First Attitude 
Left. Return to the First Position Left. Repeat several times. 

(6) First Attitude. 

Move forward several steps, alternating between the First 
Attitude Right and the First Attitude Left. Move backward, 
retracing the steps. 

Selections illustrating Action. . 

Note. We have chosen two selections for practice, the first orator- 
ical, the second dramatic in character. It is believed that in the two 
there is opportunity for the application of all the principles of action. 

NATIONAL MORALITY 

Henry Ward Beecher 

The crisis has come. By the people of this generation, by our- 
selves, probably, the amazing question is to be decided : whether 
the inheritance of our fathers shall be preserved or thrown away ; 



TECHNIQUE OF ACTION 233 

whether our Sabbaths shall be a delight or a loathing ; whether the 
taverns, on that holy day, shall be crowded with drunkards, or the 
sanctuary of God with humble worshipers ; whether riot and pro- 
f aneness shall fill our streets, and poverty our dwellings, and convicts 
our jails, and violence our land ; or whether industry and temper- 
ance and righteousness shall be the stability of our times ; whether 
mild laws shall receive the cheerful submission of freemen, or the 
iron rod of a tyrant compel the trembling homage of slaves. 

Be not deceived. Our rocks and hills will remain till the last 
conflagration. But let the Sabbath be profaned with impunity, the 
worship of God be abandoned, the government and religious instruc- 
tion of children be neglected, and the streams of intemperance be 
permitted to flow, and her glory will depart. The wall of fire will 
no longer surround her, and the munition of rocks will no longer be 
her defense. The hand that overturns our laws and temples is the 
hand of death, unbarring the gate of pandemonium, and letting 
loose upon our land the crimes and miseries of hell. 

If the Most High should stand aloof, and cast not a single ingre- 
dient into our cup of trembling, it would seem to be full of super- 
lative woe. But he will not stand aloof. As we shall have begun 
an open controversy with him, he will contend openly with us. And 
never, since the earth stood, has it been so fearful a thing for 
nations to fall into the hands of the living God. 

The day of vengeance is at hand. The day of judgment has 
come. The great earthquake which sinks Babylon is shaking the 
nations, and the waves of the mighty commotion are dashing upon 
every shore. Is this, then, a time to remove the foundations, when 
the earth itself is shaken ? Is this a time to forfeit the protection 
of God, when the hearts of men are failing them for fear, and for 
looking after those things which are to come upon the earth ? Is 
this a time to run upon his neck and the thick bosses of his buck- 
ler, when the nations are drinking blood, and fainting, and passing 
away in his wrath ? 

Is this a time to throw away the shield of faith, when his arrows 
are drunk with the blood of the slain ? to cut from the anchor of 
hope, when the clouds are collecting, and the sea and the waves 
are roaring, and thunders are uttering their voices, and lightnings 



234 ESSENTIALS OF PUBLIC SPEAKING 

blazing in the heavens, and the great hail is falling from heaven 
upon men, and every mountain, sea, and island is fleeing in dismay 
from the face of an incensed God ? 



HAMLET'S SELF-REPROACH 

William Shakespeare 

Now I am alone. 
O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I ! 
Is it not monstrous that this player here, 
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, 
Could force his soul so to his own conceit 
That from her working all his visage wann'd, 
Tears in his eyes, distraction in's aspect, 
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting 
With forms to his conceit ? and all for nothing ! 
For Hecuba ! 

What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, 
That he should weep for her ? What would he do, 
Had he the motive and the cue for passion 
That I have ? He would drown the stage with tears 
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech, 
Make mad the guilty and appal the free, 
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed 
The very faculties of eyes and ears. 
Yet I, 

A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak, 
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause, 
And can say nothing ; no, not for a king, 
Upon whose property and most dear life 
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward? 
Who calls me villain ? breaks my pate across ? 
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face ? 
Tweaks me by the nose ? gives me the lie i' the throat, 
As deep as to the lungs ? who does me this ? 
Ha! 



TECHNIQUE OF ACTION 235 

'Swounds, I should take it: for it cannot be 

But I am pigeon-liver'd and lack gall 

To make oppression bitter, or ere this 

I should have fatted all the region kites 

With this slave's offal. Bloody, bawdy villain ! 

Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain ! 

O, vengeance ! 

This is most brave, 
That I, the son of a dear father murder'd, 
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell, 
Must, like a trull, unpack my heart with words, 
And fall a-cursing, like a very drab, 
A scullion ! 

Fie upon't ! foh ! About, my brain ! I have heard 
That guilty creatures sitting at a play 
Have by the very cunning of the scene 
Been struck so to the soul that presently 
They have proclaim'd their malefactions ; 
For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak 
With most miraculous organ. I'll have these players 
Play something like the murder of my father 
Before mine uncle : I'll observe his looks ; 
I'll tent him to the quick : if he but blench, 
I know my course. The spirit that I have seen 
May be the devil : and the devil hath power 
To assume a pleasing shape ; yea, and perhaps 
Out of my weakness and my melancholy, 
As he is very potent with such spirits, 
Abuses me to damn me : I'll have grounds 
More relative than this : the play's the thing 
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. 



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FULTON AND TRUEBLOOD'S 

CHOICE READINGS FROM POPULAR 
AND STANDARD AUTHORS 

By ROBERT I. FULTON, Professor of Elocution and Oratory and Dean of the 
School of Oratory of the Ohio Wesleyan University, and THOMAS C. TRUE- 
BLOOD, Professor of Elocution and Oratory in the University of Michigan 



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IN this convenient and attractive volume the selections are 
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correct reading of the selections. 

The choice scenes from the popular dramas give the parts of 
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The indices to choice readings from Shakespeare, the Bible, 
and Hymn-Book are a special feature. In this way the student 
is aided in selecting from a wide field of valuable matter that is 
already published in a cheap form and is universally accessible. 

The volume contains a complete diagram of the principles of 
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Voice," by Dr. James Rush, presenting an outline of the science 
of elocution in a few pages. 

OTHER BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHORS 

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A Handbook of Poetry and Prose designed for Classes in 
Reading and Public Speaking 

Arranged and edited by ROBERT I. FULTON, Dean of the School of Oratory 
and Professor of Elocution and Oratory in the Ohio Wesleyan University ; 
THOMAS C. TRUEBLOOD, Professor of Elocution and Oratory in the 
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